Team Nigeria’s Jessica Oji celebrates winning silver in the women’s shot put final at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games alongside gold medallist Sarah Mitton of Canada and bronze medallist Lloydricia Cameron of Jamaica.
Nigeria was already having a remarkable day in Glasgow when Jessica Oji stepped into the shot put circle and made it even better. The 19-year-old Nigerian-American athlete, competing in her first-ever Commonwealth Games and her major international debut for Team Nigeria, produced a best throw of 17.87 metres to win silver in the women’s shot put final at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. It is a debut that nobody watching will forget anytime soon.
Canada’s Sarah Mitton, the two-time World Athletics Indoor champion, took gold with an impressive 19.88 metres.Jamaica’s Lloydricia Cameron also threw 17.87 metres, but Oji secured the silver medal on countback thanks to a superior second-best throw. The margins were razor-thin, the composure required in a high-pressure environment was immense, and the young athlete delivered on both fronts against an elite international field.
Silver medallist Jessica Oji of Nigeria, gold medallist Sarah Mitton of Canada, and bronze medallist Lloydricia Cameron of Jamaica celebrate their podium finish in the women’s shot put event at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The silver makes Jessica Oji the first Nigerian woman to win a Commonwealth Games shot put medal since Vivian Chukwuemeka claimed silver at Melbourne 2006, ending a 20-year wait for Nigeria in the event. That alone is a historic milestone, but Oji’s background makes her rise even more compelling. Born on 23 June 2007 in the United States, the University of Pennsylvania undergraduate set the Ivy League shot put record in December 2025 with a mark of 17.72 metres before breaking it four more times. Following official World Athletics confirmation of her allegiance switch to Nigeria in February 2026, she has wasted no time translating collegiate dominance to the global stage.
At just 19, Oji showed maturity far beyond her years on the podium in her debut appearance for Nigeria. Her silver added to what has been one of Team Nigeria’s strongest Commonwealth Games campaigns in recent memory, coming on the exact same day that Goodness Nwachukwu shattered her own world record to win gold in the women’s discus. Nigeria heads into the final stretch of Glasgow 2026 with a growing medal tally and two of the most exciting young names in African athletics firmly on the map.
19-year-old athlete Jessica Oji celebrates her historic silver medal win for Team Nigeria in the women’s shot put final at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with a best throw of 17.87 metres.
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Photo Credit: Jessica Oji/Instagram
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