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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
