Nigerian Athletes Blame Jet Lag for World U-20 Performance

Nigeria’s athletes have attributed some of their disappointing performances at the ongoing 2026 World U-20 Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States, to jet lag and their late arrival at the competition venue.

The athletes said the team’s travel schedule left them with little time to recover before competing, affecting their performances during the opening events of the championship.

Team Nigeria’s mixed 4x400 metres relay quartet of Jecinta Lawrence, Faith Ezechukwu, David Udoh and Perfect Faye failed to qualify for the final after finishing sixth in their heat.

The result was a major disappointment for the country, which won the inaugural edition of the event at the 2021 World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, where Johnson Nnamani, Imaobong Nse Uko, Opeyemi Oke and Bamidele Ajayi combined to claim the gold medal with a time of 3:19.70.

Speaking after the race, members of the current team said the demanding journey to the United States made it difficult to perform at their best.

According to the athletes, Team Nigeria departed for the championships on Tuesday and arrived in the United States only a few hours before competition began on Wednesday morning.

Faith Ezechukwu described the trip as exhausting, saying the athletes still gave their best despite the difficult circumstances.

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

Her teammate, Jecinta Lawrence, echoed the sentiment, expressing confidence that the outcome would have been different if the athletes had arrived earlier.

“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 stated.

Despite the setback, Ezechukwu expressed optimism about her individual event, saying she was gradually adjusting to the new environment and expected an improved performance.

Elsewhere, Tejiri Godwin, one of Nigeria’s standout performers during the preliminary rounds, was eliminated in the men’s 100 metres semi-finals after finishing sixth in his heat with a time of 10.34 seconds.

Although he missed the final, Godwin is expected to feature in Nigeria’s men’s 4x100 metres relay team, where hopes remain high for a stronger showing.

In the women’s sprint events, Rosemary Nwankwo narrowly missed qualification for the 100 metres final after placing fifth in her semi-final heat with a time of 11.54 seconds.

African U-18 and U-20 200 metres champion Success Oyibu also exited the women’s 100 metres competition without reaching the final.

Nigeria is participating in the championships with a 15-member contingent made up of 10 female athletes and five male athletes, who will continue competing in several track and field events as the tournament progresses.