Career
Early career
Favour Ofili began athletics in 2014 while in high school in Delta State, Nigeria. Her high school coach, Anne Otutu, helped ignite a firm belief in her talent. [5] She later trained in Port Harcourt with coach George Obiano until she moved to the United States. [6]
2019
Ofili was named the female athlete of the meet at the 2019 African Under-18 Championships after winning the 200 and 400 metres with new personal bests in both. [7] Still 16, she represented her country at the World Relays in Yokohama a month later, running in the 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 m relays. [8] She won the 200 m and finished second behind Patience George in the 400 m at the Nigerian Championships in July, running under 52 seconds at the longer event for the first time. Ofili bettered this mark at the African Games a month later, finishing second with 51.68 s and qualifying for the World Athletics Championships in Doha. [1] She also anchored the Nigerian team (Kemi Francis, Patience George and Blessing Oladoye) to a gold medal in the women's 4 x 400 m relay at the Games. This secured a second senior medal for the young athlete. As the youngest athlete at the World Championships in September, she improved her 400 m personal best to 51.51 s but was eliminated in the semi-finals. [1] [9]
2020–2021
Ofili earned a scholarship at the Louisiana State University [10] (USA) in 2020, after her performance at the 2019 World Championships, which caught the attention of sprint coach Dennis Shaver, who became her personal coach. On 27 February 2021, she set an African indoor record in the 200 m with a time of 22.75 s at the SEC Indoor Championship in Fayetteville, Arkansas. [11]
Despite having qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics, Ofili was ruled out of Tokyo 2020 after arriving in Japan due to the Nigerian federation failing to ensure they met the minimum drug-testing requirements. Nine other athletes were also disqualified. [12] [13] [14] She was able to participate at the World U20 Championships a few weeks later in Nairobi, where she won bronze in the 200 m and two medals for relays, with her mark in her individual event being the third-fastest ever by a U20 woman. [9]
2022
In February 2022, Ofili outdid her African indoor 200 m record three times, improving it ultimately to 22.46 s. [11] She held the NCAA collegiate record in the outdoor event with her time of 21.96 s set on 15 April that year, until Abby Steiner broke the record two months later. Ofili's mark set at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida surpassed 14-year-old Blessing Okagbare's Nigerian record and was also an African record at the time. [9]
2023
She became the second-fastest indoor 200 m runner in collegiate history (after Abby Steiner) in February 2023, setting an African indoor record of 22.36 s at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. [15] In December 2023, Ofili graduated with a bachelor's degree in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management from Louisiana State University (USA). Following college, Ofili signed a sponsorship with Adidas. [16]
2024
2024 Paris Olympics
Ofili made her Olympic finals debut in the 200m at the Paris 2024 games finishing in 6th position with a time of 22.24 seconds [17] Ofili was also part of Nigerian team in the 4 × 100 m relay where they achieved a season-best time of 42.70s, but did not proceed past the heats. [18]
Ofili intended to participate in the 100 m event. However, due to administrative errors by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, her name was not submitted and she was unable to take part. [19] After an investigation that took place following the games, it was recommended that Ofili should be compenstated ₦8,000,000 for "the disappointment and depression she experienced due to her omission from the event." [20] [21]
Following the Olympics, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria accused Ofili of being an uncontrollable athlete after rumours of her changing her nationality surfaced online. [22]
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