On July 29, Jessica Oji won silver in the women’s shot put final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The 19-year-old Nigerian produced a best throw of 17.87m to finish behind Canada’s Sarah Mitton, who secured gold with 19.88m. Just nine days later, Oji reached another career milestone in the World Athletics U20 Championships stage.

Competing in the women’s shot put final on August 7, Oji produced a superb performance to clinch Nigeria’s first gold medal in the event at the World U20 Championships since 2021. She threw a winning mark of 18.08m and became the first Nigerian thrower to win a World U20 title in a field event in the championship’s 40-year history.

Oji showed consistency throughout the competition. She opened the final with 18.05m, improved to her winning throw of 18.08m in the second round, and followed it with another strong effort of 17.95m. After two fouls, she finished the competition with a final throw of 18.07m and won the gold medal. Interestingly, she was the only athlete in the finals to break the 18-metre mark.

Her triumph is also the first for Nigeria after the World U20 Championships 2021, where they won two medals in the 4x400m relay and the 1500m men’s race. Now, Oji is the first Nigerian to come out with a field events championship medal. However, the previous best feat in field events for the country was won by Esther Aghatise with the women’s long-jump silver in 2002 and Chinecherem Nnamdi with the men’s javelin bronze in 2021.

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However, Oji’s World U20 title could just as easily have been celebrated by the United States had she not made one career-changing decision earlier this year.

Nationality switch changed Jessica Oji’s career

Jessica Oji is a Nigerian-American athlete who was born and raised in the United States. Before switching allegiance, she represented Team USA and established herself as one of the country’s top young shot put prospects. She competed in the USA U20 women’s shot put competition in 2025, winning the title and being named to First Team All-American and throwing a season-best 17.72m, making her one of the top U20 throwers in the United States.

In February 2026, Oji became eligible to represent Nigeria under World Athletics’ Eligibility to Represent a Member rules. The move was driven by her decision to compete for her Nigerian heritage following a successful spell in the American collegiate system.

The switch paid off almost immediately. In her first competition for Nigeria, she set a new Nigerian U20 shot put record with a throw of 17.74m at the Tiger Paw Invitational. Five months later, she claimed Commonwealth Games silver in Glasgow with a throw of 17.87m, becoming the first Nigerian woman to win a Commonwealth Games shot put medal since 2006.

Just nine days after that, she made even more history by winning the World Athletics U20 Championships.