Annette Echikunwoke, the Nigerian-American hammer thrower, has secured an Olympic silver medal for the United States, marking a turn in her career after switching allegiance from Nigeria.
This comes after she missed out on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 due to administrative failures by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
The AFN’s failure to conduct the necessary drug tests left her unable to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
On her 25th birthday, Echikunwoke shared her heartbreak on Instagram, revealing the emotional and mental toll the ordeal took on her.
“To think of all the hours of throwing sessions, hundreds of hard lifts, all the moments when my body aches in pain and reminding myself ‘it’ll be worth it’, just to keep pushing on… and all I’m left with is this sinking feeling,” she wrote.
Despite providing her whereabouts to the AFN six times, the necessary tests were never conducted, leaving her and other athletes in the dark until it was too late.
Other athletes, including jumper Ruth Usoro, thrower Chioma Onyekwere, and sprinters Favour Ofili and Rosemary Chukwuma, faced similar setbacks due to the federation’s negligence.
News About Nigeria reported that Favour Ofili was forced out of the women’s 100-metre sprint event at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to the federation’s negligence again.
However, Echikunwoke chose to compete for the United States.
Her decision paid off, as she not only set a new African record with a throw of 75.49 metres in May 2021 but also became a finalist in the 2022 World Championships and the 2024 US Olympic Trials hammer throw winner.
