Nigerian athlete, Favour Ofili broke down in tears on Tuesday night after finishing sixth in the women’s 200 meters final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 21-year-old Nigerian star clocked 22.24 seconds, placing her 6th behind the winner, Gabrielle Thomas from the United States, who won with a time of 21.83 seconds.
Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia won the silver medal with a time of 22.08 seconds, while USA’s Brittany Brown took the bronze.
Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita finished fourth and fifth.
Ofili had qualified for the final with the third-best time in the semi-finals, making her the first Nigerian to compete in this event’s final since Mary Onyali in Atlanta ’96.
Despite her efforts to secure a top-three spot in the 2024 race, Ofili ended up in sixth place with a time of 22.24 seconds.
The Nigerian athlete was bested by Gabby Thomas, who claimed her first individual Olympic gold.
After crying bitterly over her loss, Favour Ofili revealed on her X page that she tried her best to take home any medals from the Paris 2024 Olympics.
She wrote, “God’s will, not mine. It’s been a hard one coming. Tried to be mentally ready regardless of the shocking news I took few days back. I gave it my all from Lane 9.”
Watch the video below;
Dear #Nigeria, this is what a Kenyan colleague, who is at the #OlympicGames posted in our group chat, after @FavOfili’s 200m final:
Favour Ofili went through the mixed zone crying, talked about how the last few days have been trying for her with all the saga around realising… pic.twitter.com/zLfZk6IxOd
— Osasu Obayiuwana (@osasuo) August 6, 2024
Gods will not mine. It's been a hard one coming. Tried to be mentally ready regardless of the shocking news I took few days back. I gave it my all from lane 9. pic.twitter.com/kkJLqbDVl3
— Favour Ofili (@FavOfili) August 6, 2024
KanyiDaily recalls that Favour Ofili blamed Nigerian Athletics authorities over her inability to compete in the 100-meter race at the 2024 Paris Olympics.