Nigeria's track and field team attributes subpar showing at global junior championships to travel fatigue

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Nigerian athletes have blamed jet lag and their late arrival in the United States for some of their disappointing performances at the 2026 World U-20 Athletics Championships in Oregon, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

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Nigeria’s mixed 4x400m quartet of Jecinta Lawrence, Faith Ezechukwu, David Udoh and Perfect Faye missed out on the final after finishing sixth in their heat at the championships.

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Nigeria won the inaugural mixed 4x400m title in Nairobi in 2021 when Johnson Nnamani, Imaobong Nse Uko, Opeyemi Oke and Bamidele Ajayi combined to clock 3:19.70 in the final.

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However, the current quartet were unable to emulate their predecessors, with the athletes citing the team’s late arrival as a factor in their performance.

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Team Nigeria departed for the World U-20 Championships on Tuesday and arrived in the USA only hours before the morning session began on Wednesday.

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“The journey was stressful, and yet we did well with our best efforts,” Ezechukwu said.

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“Had it been that we arrived earlier and had time to rest properly, we could have done better, but we still have more events to go,” Lawrence added.

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Despite their disappointment in the mixed relay, Ezechukwu said she was acclimatising well and hoped to perform better in her individual event.

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Like the mixed relay quartet, Tejiri Godwin, who was one of Nigeria’s few qualifiers on the opening day, competed in the men’s 100m semi-finals on Thursday but was unable to progress.

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The youngster gave it a good run in the semi-finals, clocking 10.34s to finish sixth in his heat.

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He is expected to be back in action in the men’s 4x100m relay, where he will be looking to deliver for Team Nigeria.

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Rosemary Nwankwo also missed out on the women’s 100m final on Thursday after finishing fifth in her heat in 11.54s.

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African U-18/U-20 200m champion Success Oyibu also crashed out in the women’s 100m.

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Nigeria is fielding 15 athletes in Oregon, comprising 10 females and five males.

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