After being out of competition for a few days due to a positive Covid 19 test and missing the women’s 100m, an NCAA champion is back in action at the Birmingham Games.
The 19-year-old won the fourth heat over Gina Bass of the Gambia who clocked 22.87 with Malawian sprinter Asimenye Simwaka also advancing with a personal best of 23.28.
Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah launched the second discipline of her sprint double quest with a respectable wind-aided time of 22.80 seconds (+2.9 m/s), moving on to the semifinal round as well.
Olympic silver medalist Christine Mboma who returned from a two-month injury setback this season also won her heat in 23.20 at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Day three of track and field on Thursday (4).to advance to the semifinals.
This season, Ofili has set the tracks alight in the NCAA circuits, running 21.96s to surpass Blessing Okagbare as the fastest Nigerian athlete in this event.
Last month in Oregon, the 19-year-old might have felt that she did not give enough to make the 200m final at the World Championships, and this could be the main incentive that propelled her to go all out for a possible individual glory in Birmingham.
However, Ofili’s hopes of winning the 200-meter Commonwealth championship may be seriously jeopardised by Elaine Thompson-resurgence. Herah’s Thompson-Herah won the 100m title and is going for the double honours, but the well-rested Ofili could turn spoilers for the Jamaican if she rekindles the kind of form that saw her run her first sub 22s in April.
