Nigerian athletes blame jet lag for World U-20 performance

Several Nigerian athletes competing at the 2026 World U-20 Athletics Championships in Oregon have pointed to jet lag and their late arrival in the United States as primary reasons for their subpar performances. The team's mixed 4x400m relay quartet, which included Jecinta Lawrence and Faith Ezechukwu, failed to reach the final after finishing sixth in their heat.

Team Nigeria departed for the championships on a Tuesday and arrived in the U.S. just hours before the Wednesday morning session commenced. This tight schedule left athletes with insufficient time to recover from their journey. "The journey was stressful, and yet we did well with our best efforts," Ezechukwu commented. Lawrence added, "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."

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The journey was stressful, and yet we did well with our best efforts.

This year's mixed 4x400m performance contrasts sharply with Nigeria's success in 2021, when they won the inaugural title. The current quartet could not replicate the achievements of their predecessors.

Despite the relay team's setback, Ezechukwu expressed optimism about her individual events, stating she was acclimatizing well and aiming for better results. Other athletes also faced challenges; Tejiri Godwin, a qualifier in the men's 100m, finished sixth in his semi-final heat. Rosemary Nwankwo and Success Oyibu also did not advance to the women's 100m final. Nigeria is represented by 15 athletes in Oregon.

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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.