Nigeria’s Favour Ofili was moved to tears after securing a spot in the final of the 200m race at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Ofili qualified for the final by claiming the second automatic spot in her race on Monday, reigniting Nigeria’s hopes for a medal at the Games.

She clocked a season’s best of 22.05s, finishing behind St Lucia’s Julien Alfred – the 100m champion – who won the race with a time of 21.98s. The United States' Mary Long came in third, finishing in 22.30s.

Ofili is the first Nigerian to reach this milestone since Mary Onyali made it to the women’s 200m final at the Atlanta ’96 Games in the US. Born in 2002, about six years after Onyali's achievement, Ofili now aims to surpass her compatriot’s bronze-winning performance. The final is scheduled for Wednesday at 8:40 pm.

Ofili's remarkable performance came after she was omitted from the 100m race due to administrative lapses.

READ ALSO: Favour Ofili Misses 100m Qualification for Paris Olympics

In other news, Blessing Oborududu has advanced to the semi-finals of the 68kg women’s freestyle wrestling. Oborududu defeated Linda Morais of Canada in the first round with a score of 8-2 and then overcame France’s Koumba Larrouque in the quarter-final with a 6-2 victory. She will now face Azerbaijan’s Zhumanazarova Meerim later on Monday.