Former Nigerian athlete Annette Nneka Echikunwoke is ecstatic after making history for the United States of America in the women’s hammer throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 28-year-old, who was born in the U.S. to Nigerian parents, initially wanted to represent Nigeria internationally, but a failure by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to properly conduct drug tests, which were required by the International Athletics Committee (IOC), denied her from participating at Tokyo 2020 Games.
Echikunwoke was not the only athlete affected by AFN’s negligence, as Ruth Usoro (Long Jump), Chioma Onyekwere (Discus), sprinters Chidi Okezie, Favour Ofili, Tima Godless, Yinka Ajayi, Glory Patrick, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Knowledge Omovoh all suffered the same fate.
However, despite holding the African record in hammer throw, Echikunwoke now represents the USA, and she has seemingly put all Tokyo 2020 ordeals behind her to clinch a silver medal with a throw of 75.48 meters, therefore becoming the first American woman to win a medal in the hammer throw at the Olympics.
“It’s such a great honour,” Echikunwoke said on Tuesday. “All I can do in my heart is really just be so grateful to God to just even put me in this position.”
“I’m so excited and so grateful that I get to bring this home for Team USA. To be the first is something pretty insane, and something that will go down in history, and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
Echikunwoke was in the lead through the first three rounds on Tuesday, before Canada’s Camryn Rogers recorded a throw of 76.97m in her penultimate attempt to take the gold medal, while the bronze went to Zhao Jie of China with a throw of 74.27m.
