• Ofilli will represent Nigeria in the 200m women’s sprint final
• Wrestler Oborududu fails to impress in intense contest
• Sprinter Onwuzurike gets another chance to reach 200m men’s semifinals

Earlier in the Olympics competition, Ofilli had made the headlines after missing out on her chance to represent Nigeria in the 100m event owing to the Nigerian Olympic Committee’s alleged failure to enter her for the competition. The Nigerian sprinter has now cruised into the final of the 200m contest, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to do so in 28 years. Powerful Nigerian wrestler, Oborududu, who had earlier beaten former world champion Linda Morais loses an opportunity to compete in the final to Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan. 

Ofilli brings Nigeria close to medal opportunity

Nigeria has not had a finalist in the event since Mary Onyali reached the final and won a bronze medal in Atlanta '96. Onyali took home the bronze medal in the final, finishing behind Marie-Jose Perec of France and Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey. 

Ofilli has once again brought memories of Atlanta 1996 to the minds of many who witnessed the beautiful event that year. Ofilli impressed fans all over the country with her superb sprint, and many have applauded the Nigerian athlete across social media platforms. 

She finished the race with a season’s best of 22.05s, falling behind newly crowned 100 metres Olympic winner St Lucia’s Julien Alfred, who crossed the line in a time of 21.98s. The United States’ Mary Long was in third, finishing in 22:30s.

Oborududu falls short in crucial event

In a highly anticipated match that drew significant attention, Nigerian wrestler Blessing Oborududu faced a tough defeat in an important event, falling short of her gold medal goal and leaving fans and supporters disheartened. 

The match was fiercely contested, with Oborududu facing the formidable Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan in a 3-1 loss. 

The 15-time African champion will now compete for bronze this evening against Japan’s Okazi by 6:46pm (Nigerian time)

Onwuzurike gets another chance to qualify for 200m men’s semifinals

Udodi Onwuzurike will get another shot at becoming the fourth Nigerian man to reach the 200-metre semifinals at the Olympics. Having finished fifth in his first-round heat with a time of 20.55s, he will now compete in the Repechage Round, designated for athletes who missed automatic semifinal qualifications. 

Divine Oduduru, who reached the semifinals in 2016 and 2021, was the last Nigerian to achieve this, although he did not advance to the final.

Paris Olympics 2024: Nathaniel, Oborududu impress with wins as Okezie misses out

Previously, TheRadar reported that Nigeria’s hurdler, Ezekiel Nathaniel, broke a 12-year-old record to emerge the third Nigerian in a 400m hurdles semi-final. Oborududu, who represented Nigeria in the wrestling event, beat Canada’s Morais for the second time since their last meeting in 2022. 

Although Chidi Okezie was unable to progress to the semifinals even after the repechage round on Monday morning, Nigeria still has Samuel Ogazi who qualified automatically from round one.