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Jessica Oji etched her name into Nigerian athletics history by becoming the country’s first-ever field event gold medallist at the World U20 Athletics Championships after winning the women’s shot put title in Eugene, USA, with a sensational throw of 18.08m, Making of Champions reports.
Oji, 19, produced an outstanding series of 18.05m, 18.08m, 17.95m, X, X, 18.07m, showing remarkable consistency to secure the historic victory.
Before Oji’s triumph, Nigeria had never won a field event title at the World U20 Athletics Championships. In fact, the nation had claimed only two field event medals in the competition’s history: Esther Aghatise’s silver medal in the women’s long jump in 2002 and Chinecherem Nnamdi’s bronze medal in the men’s javelin throw in 2021.
The victory also marks another significant milestone in what has been an impressive season for the young thrower.
Just a week after winning Silver at the Commonwealth Games, Oji returned to the global stage and upgraded that performance with a historic world U20 gold, further underlining her status as one of Nigeria’s brightest field event prospects.
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Her landmark achievement not only delivers a breakthrough moment for Nigerian athletics but also ends the country’s long wait for a field event champion at the World U20 Championships.
Oji made her debut for Nigeria in 2026 and broke the long-standing African record of 18.43 m set by former Nigerian thrower Vivian Chukwuemeka in 2003. The record placed her second in the NCAA rankings and also above Mine de Klerk African mark of 18.48m set just a day earlier.
In the current world rankings, Oji is ranked No. 40 in women’s shot put.[1] Officially, the mark did not count as an African or Nigerian record, as it was achieved before her transfer of allegiance.
In 2025, Oji was crowned the USA U-20 Champion and placed sixth in the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in the shot put.
