Nigeria’s Jessica Oji produced a dominant performance to win gold in the women’s shot put at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon, becoming Nigeria’s first world champion in a field event at any level.
The teenage sensation delivered a championship-winning mark of 18.08m to emerge as the new World U20 champion.
Oji signalled her intentions immediately, opening the competition with a massive 18.05m throw to take an early lead over the rest of the field.
She returned for her second attempt and improved to 18.08m, consolidating her position at the top of the standings and putting the competition under enormous pressure.
With the gold medal already secured heading into her final attempt, Oji demonstrated remarkable consistency by producing another huge throw of 18.07m, just one centimetre short of her winning mark.
Ecuador’s Belsy Jennifer Quinonez mounted a strong challenge but ultimately settled for silver with a best throw of 17.90m, while Germany’s Emily Scherf completed the podium.
Oji’s triumph represents a landmark moment for Nigerian athletics.
For the first time, a Nigerian athlete has won a field event world title at any level, adding a new chapter to a national athletics history.
Her victory is even more remarkable considering her recent performances at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where she competed against senior athletes and claimed silver in the women’s shot put before travelling to Oregon for the World U20 Championships.
Oji had already demonstrated her medal credentials during qualification in Oregon, producing 17.56m to finish first overall and advance comfortably to the final.
