AfriPulse
Favour Ofili (born December 31, 2002) is a Turkish sprinter who participates in the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m relay. Ofili made her Olympic debut in the women’s 200m at the 2024 Paris Games, placing sixth in the finals. Ofili’s sporting allegiance changed from Nigeria to Turkey in 2025.
She won a silver medal in the 400 metres at the 2019 African Games. Ofili won silver in the 200m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She won the bronze medal in the 2021 World Under-20 Championships in the 200 metres.
Ofili is the African indoor record holder in the 200 m event, as well as the Nigerian record holder (also at the U20 level), with a time of 21.96 seconds, making her the first Nigerian woman (and the second African woman) to break the 22-second barrier.
In April 2022, she ran 10.93 seconds in the 100 m, making her the first female NCAA athlete to run sub-11s and sub-22s. Ofili is the current 150-metre world record holder, having broken it on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at the Adidas Atlanta City Games in 15.85 seconds. By doing so, she became the first woman ever to run 150 meters in under 16 seconds, beating Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s previous record of 16.23 s.
Photo Credit: @ofili.fa, Instagram
Favour Ofili was born in Delta State, Nigeria, on December 31, 2002. Favour Ofili finished her primary and secondary school in Rivers State, Nigeria. She subsequently relocated to the United States on a scholarship to attend Louisiana State University (LSU), where she ran for the Tigers’ track and field team.
Career
Favour Ofili began athletics in 2014, while attending secondary school in Delta State, Nigeria. Her high school coach, Anne Otutu, helped her develop a strong belief in her abilities. She later trained in Port Harcourt with coach George Obiano before moving to the United States.
Ofili was named the female athlete of the meet at the 2019 African Under-18 Championships after winning the 200 and 400 metres with new personal bests. A month later, at the World Relays in Yokohama, she competed in the 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 m relays, although she was still 16 years old.
She won the 200 m and was second behind Patience George in the 400 m at the Nigerian Championships in July, breaking 52 seconds in the longer race for the first time. Ofili improved on this time at the African Games a month later, finishing second in 51.68 seconds and qualifying for the World Athletics Championships in Doha.
She also helped the Nigerian team (Kemi Francis, Patience George, and Blessing Oladoye) win gold in the women’s 4 x 400 m relay at the Games. This gained the young athlete’s second senior medal. As the youngest participant at the World Championships in September, she improved her 400 m personal best to 51.51 seconds but was eliminated in the semi-finals.
Ofili received a scholarship to Louisiana State University (USA) in 2020, following her success at the 2019 World Championships, which drew the notice of sprint coach Dennis Shaver, who became her personal coach. On February 27, 2021, she set an African indoor record in the 200 metres with a run of 22.75 seconds at the SEC Indoor Championship in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Despite qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics, Ofili was disqualified from Tokyo 2020 after arriving in Japan because the Nigerian federation failed to ensure they satisfied the minimal drug-testing requirements. Nine further athletes were also disqualified. She was allowed to compete in the World U20 Championships a few weeks later in Nairobi, where she won bronze in the 200 m and two medals in relays, with her solo time being the third-fastest ever by a U20 woman.
In February 2022, Ofili broke her African indoor 200 m record three times, eventually reaching 22.46 seconds. She held the NCAA collegiate record in the outdoor event with a time of 21.96 seconds set on April 15, that year, until Abby Steiner broke it two months later. Ofili’s performance at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, surpassed 14-year-old Blessing Okagbare’s Nigerian record and was also the African record at the time.
She became the second-fastest indoor 200 m runner in collegiate history (behind Abby Steiner) in February 2023, setting an African indoor mark of 22.36 seconds at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Ofili received her bachelor’s degree in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management from Louisiana State University (USA) in December 2023. Following college, Ofili signed a sponsorship with Adidas.
Ofili made her Olympic finals debut in the 200m at the Paris 2024 games, finishing in sixth place with a time of 22.24. Ofili was part of the Nigerian squad in the 4 × 100 m relay, which produced a season-best time of 42.70s but did not go beyond the heats.
She planned to compete in the 100 metre event. However, because of administrative problems by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, her name was not submitted, and she was unable to compete. Following the games, an investigation suggested compensating Ofili with ₦8,000,000 for “the disappointment and depression she experienced due to her omission from the event.”
Following the Olympics, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria accused Ofili of being an unmanageable athlete after reports about her changing her nationality circulated online.
Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
International competitions
Year
Competition
Venue
Position
Event
2018
African Youth Games
Algiers, Algeria
1st
400 m
Youth Olympic Games
Buenos Aires, Argentina
10th
400 m
2019
African U18 Championships
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
1st
200 m
1st
400 m
World Relays
Yokohama, Japan
17th (h)
4 × 100 m relay
18th (h)
4 × 400 m relay
African Games
Rabat, Morocco
2nd
400 m
1st
4 × 400 m relay
World Championships
Doha, Qatar
21st (sf)
400 m
15th (h)
4 × 400 m relay
2021
World U20 Championships
Nairobi, Kenya
3rd
200 m
3rd
4 × 100 m relay
1st
4 × 400 m relay
2022
World Championships
Eugene, OR, United States
10th (sf)
200 m
4th
4 × 100 m relay
Commonwealth Games
Birmingham, United Kingdom
2nd
200 m
1st
4 × 100 m relay
2023
World Championships
Budapest, Hungary
18th (sf)
200 m
–
4 × 100 m relay
2024
African Championships
Douala, Cameroon
2nd (h)
100 m
Paris Olympics
Paris, France
6th
200 m
9th
4 × 100 m relay
Personal Life
Favour Ofili keeps her personal life quiet and focuses on her sports profession. Her dedication and hard effort have gained her respect and affection throughout the sporting community.
Favour Ofili Net Worth
Favour Ofili has an estimated net worth of $900,000. This estimate is based on her achievements and earnings as a professional athlete. Favour, who competes for the LSU Tigers track and field team, has received acclaim and financial incentives for her performances in different national and international tournaments. Her talent and hard work have earned her not only medals but also sponsorship deals and endorsements, which have greatly increased her net worth.
Favour Ofili
Instagram: @ofili.fa
Twitter: @FavOfili
YouTube: Favour Ofili
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