Jessica Oji makes history with gold medal at World U20 Shot Put

Jessica Oji has made history for Nigeria by becoming the first athlete from the country to win a gold medal in a field event at the World U20 Athletics Championships.

The 19-year-old won the women's shot put title early Friday morning in Oregon with a fantastic throw of 18.08 metres. She is the first Nigerian ever to win a world title in a field event at this championship.

Oji had a strong and steady performance throughout the final. She started with a throw of 18.05m, then improved to 18.08m for the win, followed by a 17.95m throw. She had two fouls but finished with another great throw of 18.07m to secure the victory.

She was the only athlete in the contest to throw over the 18-metre mark.

Before Oji’s achievement, Nigeria had never had a champion in a field event at the World U20 Athletics Championships. The only previous field event medals for Nigeria at the championships were Esther Aghatise’s silver in the women’s long jump in 2002 and Chinecherem Nnamdi’s bronze in the men’s javelin in 2021.

This win adds to a remarkable year for the young athlete.

On 2 February, Oji switched her allegiance from the United States to Nigeria. She celebrated her 19th birthday on 23 June, won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games on 29 July, and now she has added a World U20 gold medal to her list of achievements this season.

Her latest win comes just one week after she took silver at the Commonwealth Games, where she made a name for herself on the senior international stage. Now she has gone even further by becoming a World Junior champion.

Oji’s success is a big boost for Nigerian athletics, particularly in field events, where the country has not had as much success compared to sprints and jumps.

At just 19, Oji has done what no Nigerian has done before at the World U20 Athletics Championships. Her impressive performance suggests that even greater successes may be on the horizon.