Poor start for Nigeria as sprinters miss U-20 World Championships finals in Oregon

ATPoor start for Nigeria as sprinters miss U-20 World Championships finals in Oregon

Nigeria's campaign at the 2026 World Athletics U-20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, endured a disappointing start after the country's athletes failed to secure a place in any of the opening track finals.

The setback began with the Nigerian 4x400m mixed relay team, which fell short of qualification for the final, before hopes of redemption in the individual 100m events were dashed as both Tejiri Godwin and Chigozie Rosemary Nwankwo exited at the semifinal stage.

In the men's 100m semifinal, Tejiri Godwin finished sixth in the opening semifinal with a time of 10.34 seconds, missing out on a place in the final. South Africa's Marko Ferreira won the race in 10.13 seconds, ahead of Kyler Brown, who crossed the line in 10.16 seconds.

Nigeria's Chigozie Rosemary Nwankwo also bowed out in the women's 100m after placing fifth in her semifinal in 11.54 seconds.

Jamaica's Shanoya Douglas claimed victory in 11.21 seconds, while Mariah Maxwell followed in second with a time of 11.25 seconds.

The disappointing results come after Nigerian athletes complained of jet lag, revealing that they only arrived in Oregon on the morning of their competition, leaving them with little time to recover or acclimatize before taking to the track.

Despite the difficult opening, Team Nigeria will now turn its attention to the remaining events, with hopes resting on the mixed 100m relay, as well as the men's and women's 200m and 400m races, where the team will be aiming to revive its medal ambitions at the championships.