Nigeria’s Favour Ofili put in a commendable performance at the women’s 200m Olympic final on Tuesday, missing out on a medal by 0.04 seconds as the gold medal went to Gabby Thomas of the United States.
Thomas, a Harvard University graduate, emerged as the Olympic champion in the women’s 200m final following a blistering race that saw her finish with a stunning time of 21.83 seconds.
St. Lucia’s history maker Julien Alfred secured the silver medal with a time of 22.08 seconds, while Thomas’s fellow American Brittany Brown took the bronze with a 22.20-second finish.
Ofili made a promising start to the race in the outside lane, but soon found herself trying to keep up with Alfred who held the lead early in the race.
Alfred’s lead disappeared soon enough as Thomas surged past her as the sprinters came out at the curve, and stretched that lead till the finish line.
Ofili’s pace in the race picked up in the final stretch but proved too late to get a podium finish as Brown took the third place just ahead of her and Great Britain duo Dina Asher-Smith (22.22s) and Daryll Neita (22.23s).
Africa’s other representative in the final, Cote d’Ivoire’s Jessica Gbai, completed the race in 22.70 seconds, placing ninth.