A 22-year-old Nigerian lady, Favour Chukwuka Ofili emerged the first woman to ever run 150m in 16 seconds, updating the previous record of 16.23 seconds set in 2018 by Shaunae Miller-Uibo.
This feat also makes her the second Nigerian athlete to hold a world record in athletics, joining reigning world 100m hurdles champion Tobi Amusan.
Favour Chukwuka Ofili is a Nigerian track and field sprinter. She won the 400-meter silver medal at the 2019 African Games. In the 200 and 400 metres, she is also the 2019 African Youth Champion.
With a time of 21.96, she owns both the national and Under-20 records for the 200-meter distance, becoming the first female athlete from Nigeria to break the 22-second barrier.
Favour Ofili was born in Delta State, Nigeria on December 31st, 2002. She had her primary and secondary school education in Delta State, Nigeria, before leaving for the United States of America on a scholarship to Louisiana State University, where she competes for the school athletics team.
In February 2022, Ofili bettered her African indoor 200m record three times, improving it ultimately to 22.46 s. 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.
She became also the second-fastest indoor 200 m runner in collegiate history (after Steiner) in February 2023, setting an even better African indoor record of 22.36 s at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
She was awarded a second senior medal at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha.
