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Commonwealth Silver medallist, Favour Ofili shares an exclusive insight on how she settled for Louisiana State University.
The success of Nigerian student-athletes in US colleges and universities reached an all-time high this year, with Favour Ofili becoming one of the poster girls in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) circuit.
The 19-year-old was one of Nigeria’s best home-based young talents before securing a college scholarship to Louisiana State University (LSU) in January 2021. Since then, she has performed brilliantly and is now seen as the next big name in Nigeria athletics, after Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume.
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Ofili rose to the elite league this season, churning out her best career performances in the college circuit and internationally for Nigeria. The LSU sophomore student was unbeaten outdoors before the NCAA Championships, clocking record-breaking times.
She lost to University of Kentucky's Abby Steiner in the 60m and 200m at the SouthEastern Conference (SEC) and NCAA Indoor Championships, but the loss served as motivation, as she made up for it by sweeping the 100m and 200m titles at the SEC Conference Outdoor Championships.
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Afterward, the speedster ran a then 200m Collegiate Record (CR) of 21.96s a few weeks later, becoming the first college, Nigerian, and second African athlete in history to run under the 22s mark. She also ran a Personal Best (PB) of 10.93s in the 100m plus won a 200m Silver medal at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, clocking an outstanding 22.05s.
Her exceptional performances this season have seen her nicknamed ‘Star Girl’, being the poster girl of Nigerian athletes in the NCAA.
She has some advice for current home-based athletes considering studying in the US. "If you are picking a school, make sure you build a relationship with them that will make you feel welcome and understood, and they have patience with you," she says.
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As to how she knew LSU would be a perfect match for her collegiate career, she gave some insight. "I placed all the schools' names that came for me on a table and prayed over them for some time, and God led me here."
As is the case with most successful African athletes, Ofili aligns her motivation with her Christian beliefs. "Having to represent God in all I do, having to compete knowing I got someone great ahead and behind me (God), keeps me going”, she says.
Internationally, Ofili competed at the World Championships in Oregon and Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The talented sprinter got to the World Championships 200m semifinals and ran a fantastic leg in the back straight to help the women’s 4x100m relay team earn a fourth-place finish clocking an African Record (AR) of 42.22s.
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Two weeks later in Birmingham, she won the 200m Silver medal behind Olympic Champion, Elaine Thompson - her first senior international medal, while she was part of the 4x100m quartet that further took down the AR to 42.10s, winning the Commonwealth Gold medal.
Due to Ofili’s achievements at LSU, the school has taken more interest in Nigerian athletes, signing 400m sensation Ella Onojuvwevwo, and 100m Nigeria U20 record holder, Tima Godbless for the 2023 season.
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