Livingston High School alumna Jessica Oji threw 18.08 meters to win the shot put at the World Athletics U20 Championships on Thursday, Aug. 6, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to win a field event world title at any level.
The 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania sophomore dominated the final, crossing the 18-meter mark three times and posting the competition's four best throws. Ecuador's Belsy Jenniffer Quiñonez took silver at 17.90 meters, and Germany's Emily Scherf earned bronze at 17.23.
No Nigerian had won a field event world title at the senior or junior level before Oji stepped into the ring. The country's only previous U20 field medals were a long jump silver in 2002 and a javelin bronze in 2021, according to NJ.com.
"I haven't thrown 18 meters in a while, and usually when I do, I'm in good physical shape, which wasn't the case today," Oji told DyeStat after the final. "But the fact that I threw 18 meters in the first round gave me the confidence I needed for the rest of the competition."
Oji opened with 18.05 meters, improved to the winning 18.08 in the second round, then closed with an 18.07 on her sixth and final attempt. Her winning mark was the farthest at the World U20 Championships since 1996.
The gold capped a whirlwind international summer. Oji switched her allegiance from the United States to Nigeria in February after Penn teammate Moforehan Abinusawa helped her connect with Nigerian athletics officials. Days before the U20 final, she won silver at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, her first senior international competition for Nigeria.
At Livingston High, Oji won five NJSIAA Meet of Champions golds in the shot put, two national titles (Nike Indoor and Outdoor), two Penn Relays crowns and the USATF U20 title. She graduated in 2025 as the No. 2 shot putter in U.S. high school history.
Her freshman year at Penn was decorated in its own right. She broke the Ivy League shot put record multiple times, peaking at 18.50 meters (60-8½), which also stands as the African record. She finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as the only freshman in the field.
Penn volunteer throws coach Montel Johnson called Oji "a generational talent" in a Daily Pennsylvanian profile in December 2025.
Oji returns to Penn for the 2026-27 indoor season with her sights set well beyond college. She told RunBlogRun after the final that she has "so much confidence coming into the collegiate season next year" and is already eyeing the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Her next throw at Penn will come as a world champion.
