Nigeria’s Favour Ofili has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Week on Tuesday morning after she broke the collegiate record in the 200m on Friday.
Ofili who is in year two with the Louisiana State University, LSU, track and field is one of the young, rising stars in track and field is making a name for herself at only 19 years of age. A three-time U20 world medalist, Ofili came into last weekend’s Tom Jones Memorial meet in Gainesville, Florida, with a career best of 22.23s in the 200m that she ran at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships to secure a bronze medal. In what was her first outdoor 200m race since that meet in August of 2021, Ofili blazed around half the track in a collegiate record setting time of 21.96 seconds; it’s also a 2022 world lead.
The time of 21.96s is the fastest in the world this year for the discipline and it set the Nigerian national record. The previous Nigerian national record was held by Blessing Okagbare (22.04) that she ran back in 2018. The readout of 21.96s is also the second fastest ever in African history behind Namibia’s Christine Mboma, who owns a personal best of 21.78.
In the LSU record book, Ofili surpassed former record holder Dawn Sowell, who owned claim to a career best readout of 22.04s while competing for LSU back in 1989. The previous collegiate record belonged to Florida’s Kyra Jefferson who ran a 22.02s back in 2017 at the NCAA Championships.
The 21.96s has also earned Ofili the qualification standard for the 2022 World Athletics Championships that will take place later this year in Eugene, Oregon. She also has the qualification standard in the 100m with her time of 11.00s that she ran earlier this outdoor season as well.
