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By Monica Iheakam
World athletics U20 champion, Favour Ofili has erased the 5-year-old 200m national record set by Blessing Okagbare. The feat was performed at the Tom Jones Memorial Classic 2022.
Her stunning performance of 21.96s was set at the Florida meet to effectively wipe out the 22.04s record set by Okagbare in 2018.
This feat is coming barely a week after she posted a blistering personal best of 11.00 s in the 100m dash to win silver behind Abby Steiner at the Joe May invitational.
It is also the fastest in the world this year, as well as the fastest ever in the NCAA and a new school record.
She is the second African woman after Christine Mboma of Namibia to go under 22 seconds in the half-lap event and her winning time is also a world leader for 2022 (the fastest in the event so far this year).
At the Southeastern Conference indoor championships held last year February, Ofili finished third in the 200 meters with a new Personal Best time of 22.75 which dwarfs the former Nigeria national record of 23.00s held by Regina George and by extension the African Record hitherto held by Ivorian athlete, Murielle Ahouré at 22.80.
The 19-year-old, represented Nigeria at the 2019 IAAF World Championships when she was only 16, and that made her the youngest athlete to compete at the World Championships that year.
She was also at the African Games in Morocco the same year where she won a silver medal in the 400 meters.
