Jessica Oji made history for Nigeria at the World U20 Championships, winning a landmark shot put gold medal in Eugene.

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The Nigerian produced a commanding performance in the women’s shot put to claim the title with a best throw of 18.08 metres, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to win a world championship gold in a field event at any level.

Oji opened her series with an impressive 18.05m before improving to 18.08m on her third attempt. She followed that with 17.95m, while her fourth effort was ruled a foul.

Her winning mark was enough to keep her at the summit of the standings, with Oji emerging as the only competitor to surpass the 18-metre barrier.

The historic victory represents a major milestone for Nigerian athletics and adds another significant achievement to the country’s growing reputation in global track and field.

Nigeria also advanced to the final of the mixed 4x100m relay after finishing second in their heat in 41.91 seconds.

Miracle Ezechukwu delivered one of the standout moments of the qualifying round, producing a spectacular anchor leg with a 10.05-second split.

The Nigerian dramatically reduced the deficit to Germany and came close to overtaking the United States in the closing stages.

Ezechukwu teamed up with Tejiri Godwin, Rosemary Nwankwo and Perfect Faye to secure Nigeria’s place in the final.

Precious Opinion also boosted Nigeria’s medal prospects by reaching the men’s triple jump final with a personal-best leap of 16.02m.

The mark, achieved with a legal wind reading of -0.9m/s, ranked fourth among the qualifiers and leaves Opinion within reach of a podium finish.

Jecinta Lawrence and Faith Ezechukwu were unable to advance to the women’s 400m final after exiting at the semifinal stage.

Lawrence clocked 54.86 seconds to finish seventh in her semifinal, while Ezechukwu recorded 54.68 seconds to place eighth.

Both had earlier secured automatic qualification from the opening round, with Lawrence running 53.97 seconds and Ezechukwu 54.38 seconds.

David Dominion Udoh’s men’s 400m campaign, meanwhile, ended in the opening round after he was disqualified for a lane infringement under Technical Rule 17.3.3.

With Oji already securing a historic gold, Nigeria will now turn its attention to the remaining finals in Eugene.