Twenty years ago, precisely on August 1, 1996, Nigeria’s Queen of track Mary Onyali became the first Nigerian to run and win a bronze medal in the history of the Olympics and the record stands till today.
She delivered the bronze medal running in lane 3 of the Atlanta 96’s 200 meter women’s final, returning a time of 22.38s behind Jose Perec ( 22.12s ) of France and the ageless Marlene Ottey ( 22.24s) of Jamaican.
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The feat erupted a loud jubilation from Nigerians and Africans all over as the Africa queen of track cemented her legacy as one of the finest sprinters in the world beyond the continent of Africa where her supremacy was never contested.
Later tonight , 28 years after that heroic feat, Favour Ofili will be gunning for the records as she becomes the only second Nigerian to step on the tracks in the final of the Olympic Women 200 meter final event.
She also has the chance of equalling the bronze medal feat or surpassing it by winning the Silver medal and for the mere fact she is in the final she has a competing chance of winning the Gold and becomes the first ever Africa to win the 200 meter event gold medal at the Olympics.
This is enough motivation for her to go all out and break the 28 year old record of Queen Mary Onyali in style, she can dare the gods, and go for the Gold.
She will be running in lane 3 in Paris, just like Mary in Atlanta but she has the fastest woman in the world , Julien Albert of Saint Lucia to contend with as well as 6 others for the gold.
Her mental strength and readiness has been tested and with her positive response to the administrative malady which kept her out of the 100 meter event against her wish, by qualifying for the final in style .
She posted her season best in the heat on Sunday and also better it on Monday in the Semi Final as she enters the final as the third fastest runner.
The ovation is loud , the home support for her is unprecedented as many Nigerians are proud of her performance so far and are routing for her to go all the way and etch her name in the history book for life by returning a medal of any colour, in the women 200 metre event.
Hopefully she won’t fall under the weight of the high expectations, rather find favour and hit best ever form to deliver the gold and break the long standing Mary Onyali’s record.
