World U-20 Championships: Ezechukwu Fires Nigeria to African 4x100m Record

Posted : 07 August 2026

Nigeria’s medal hopes at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, received a major boost on Friday as the country’s mixed 4x100m relay quartet set a new African U-20 record to qualify for the final.

The quartet of Tejiri Godwin, Rosemary Nwankwo, Perfect Faye and Miracle Ezechukwu clocked 41.91 seconds to finish second in their heat and secure their place in the medal race.

Nigeria appeared to be trailing the leading teams heading into the final exchange, but Ezechukwu produced a spectacular anchor leg to dramatically improve the team’s position.

The youngster ran a remarkable 10.05-second split, powering past Germany and closing rapidly on the United States before Nigeria crossed the finish line in 41.91 seconds.

The time represents a Nigerian U-20 record and the fastest time ever recorded by an African team in the mixed 4x100m relay at U-20 level.

With the final still to come, the performance has placed Nigeria among the leading contenders for a podium finish and further underlined the depth of the country’s emerging sprint talent.

Nigeria also secured two semifinal places in the women’s 400 metres, with Jecinta Lawrence and Faith Ezechukwu both progressing from their respective heats.

Lawrence ran 53.97 seconds to finish third in her heat in a dead heat with Eni Kuske, with both athletes awarded the same time.

Ezechukwu also produced a strong performance, clocking 54.38 seconds to finish third in her heat and secure automatic qualification for the semifinals.

In the men’s triple jump, Precious Opinion added another positive result for Team Nigeria after producing a personal best of 16.02 metres in the qualification round.

Opinion’s effort surpassed the automatic qualification mark of 16.00 metres, earning him a place in the final as one of the top five qualifiers.

His performance puts him firmly in medal contention as he prepares to compete against the leading jumpers in the final.

The latest successes add to Nigeria’s growing list of strong performances in Eugene, following Jessica Oji’s impressive qualification for the women’s shot put final.

Oji topped the qualification standings with a throw of 17.56 metres, giving Nigeria another realistic medal opportunity at the championships.

With the mixed relay final, women’s 400 metres semifinals and men’s triple jump final ahead, Team Nigeria will be hoping its promising start can translate into more medals at the global junior championships.

The outstanding performances across multiple events reflect Nigeria’s growing strength at the junior level and raise expectations of a successful finish as the World U-20 Championships enter their decisive stages.

World U-20 Championships: Ezechukwu Fires Nigeria to African 4x100m Record

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