U20 World Athletics: Oji wins historic gold for Nigeria

Jessica Oji, on Friday, added a chapter to the history of Nigerian athletics with her sterling performance in the women’s shot put event at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

Oji, with a superb throw of 18.08 metres at Hayward Field, Oregon, became the first athlete to win a gold medal for Nigeria in a field event at the competition.

Belsy Jenniffer Quiñonez of Team Ecuador won the silver with a throw of 17.90m while Emily Scherf of Team Germany claimed the bronze with a throw of 17.23m.

Oji, who won the silver at the just-ended 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, started with a throw of 18.05m, followed by 18.08m, which was good enough to earn her the gold, followed by a 17.95m throw.

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The 19-year-old later churned out another impressive throw of 18.07m to end her campaign on the podium.

The Nigerian amazon with a personal best of 18.50m was the only athlete in the competition to throw beyond the 18-metre mark.

Recall that Nigeria, before now, had only two field event medals to show at the World U20 Athletics Championships, won by Esther Aghatise and Chinecherem Nnamdi.

Aghatise bagged a silver medal in the women’s long jump in 2002 while Nnamdi secured a bronze medal in the men’s javelin in 2021.

Earlier this year, [February 2], Oji completed her switch of allegiance from the United States to Nigeria.

She bagged her first medal in the colours of Nigeria at the Glasgow 2026 when she recorded a throw of 17.87m to settle for the silver medal.

Oji born on June 23, 2007, in Accra, Ghana and raised in the United States, made her debut for Nigeria in 2026 and broke the long-standing African record of 18.43m set by former Nigerian thrower Vivian Chukwuemeka in 2003.

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