By Samuel Akpan in Paris
After her 100m ordeal, Favour Ofili becomes the first Nigerian woman to qualify for the final of the 200m at the Olympics in 28 years.
According to Persecondnews, Ofili finished second with a season’s best of 22.05s, just behind Julien Alfred, who won the race and crossed the line in a time of 21.98s.
In the overall standings of the 200m semifinals, Ofili finished third fastest overall behind Gabby Thomas and Julien Alfred.
The last time a Nigerian made the final of the women’s 200m was in Atlanta 1996, when Mary Onyali won a bronze medal before Ofili was born.
Ofili angrily criticized her national federation after a significant administrative error prevented her from competing in the women’s 100m.
The 21-year-old was inexplicably left out of the 100m event despite qualifying for the event by meeting the 11.07 entry standard set for the event as well as winning at the Nigerian Olympic Trials in Benin City in June.
Sports Minister John Enoh had warned the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) to make sure Ofili competed in the events she qualified for, but it appears that all efforts to convince World Athletics to enter the Nigerian sprinter in the 200m and 4x100m failed.
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