With sprinter Favour Ofili competing in the women’s 200-meter final and wrestler Blessing Oborodudu vying for bronze in the women’s 68-kg freestyle, Team Nigeria appears poised to capture their first set of medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday (today).
After placing second in the first semi-final behind new 100-meter champion Julien Alfred, Ofili ran a new season’s best of 22.05 seconds to secure her spot in the final on Monday. She raced her 22.24s on Sunday in the heats, and she beat them.
Following shot put thrower Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, she is the second Nigerian to qualify for the final of the 2024 Olympic track and field competition.
The 21-year-old is also the first Nigerian woman to qualify for the final of the 200m at the Olympics in 28 years. The last time a Nigerian made the final of the women’s 200m was during the Atlanta 1996 Games, when Mary Onyali won a bronze medal.She had the third-fastest time in the semi-finals behind Julien Alfred 21.98s and Gabby Thomas 21.86s.
Ofili will run the final in lane three and will contend with other athletes like Great Britain’s Daryll Neita and Dina Asher-Smith, whom she beat in the heats.
Meanwhile, Oborududu suffered a narrow 3-1 defeat to Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova in the semi-finals of the women’s 68kg freestyle wrestling on Monday night.
The loss ends the Nigerian’s quest for gold but keeps her in contention for a bronze medal. She will now face North Korea’s Pak Sol Gum in the repechage bout for the chance to claim her second consecutive Olympic medal.
Oborududu, who won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, had earlier impressed with a commanding 8-2 victory over Canadian Linda Morais in the quarterfinals.
Her journey to the semifinals had been marked by an impressive performance, particularly her quarter-final victory over France’s Koumba Larroque.
Overcoming an early deficit, she triumphed 6-2, demonstrating her trademark resilience and skill.
