Jessica Oji has written her name into Nigeria’s athletics history after becoming the country’s first-ever field event gold medallist at the World U20 Athletics Championships.
The 19-year-old won the women’s shot put title early Friday morning in Oregon with a superb throw of 18.08 metres, becoming the first Nigerian to win a world title in a field event at the competition.
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Oji produced an outstanding and consistent series throughout the final. She opened with 18.05m, improved to a winning mark of 18.08m, followed with 17.95m, before recording two fouls. She finished with another impressive throw of 18.07m to seal the historic victory.
She was the only athlete in the competition to throw beyond the 18-metre mark.
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Before Oji’s winning feat, Nigeria had never produced a field event champion at the World U20 Athletics Championships. The country’s only previous field event medals at the championships were Esther Aghatise’s silver medal in the women’s long jump in 2002 and Chinecherem Nnamdi’s bronze medal in the men’s javelin in 2021.
The victory continues a remarkable year for the young athlete.
On 2 February, Oji completed her switch of allegiance from the United States to Nigeria. She celebrated her 19th birthday on 23 June, won a Commonwealth Games silver medal on 29 July, and has now added a World U20 gold medal to cap an unforgettable season.
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Her latest achievement comes just one week after claiming silver at the Commonwealth Games, where she announced herself on the senior international stage. She has now gone one step further by becoming a World Junior champion.
Oji’s success is another major boost for Nigerian athletics, especially in the field events, where the country has traditionally enjoyed less success than in the sprints and jumps.
At just 19, Oji has already achieved what no Nigerian had done before at the World U20 Athletics Championships, and her performance suggests even greater achievements could lie ahead.
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