- Annette Echikunwoke won a silver medal for the United States in hammer throw at the Paris Olympics, throwing 75.48 meters
- Echikunwoke switched allegiance from Nigeria to the U.S. after being disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics due to administrative errors
Annette Echikunwoke, a former Nigerian hammer thrower, has won an Olympic medal for the United States during the 33rd Paris Olympic Games in France.
The accomplishment comes from Nigeria’s poor performance in the games.
Nigerian athletes have yet to win a medal at the Olympics, which concludes on Sunday.
The 28-year-old threw a season-best 75.48 meters to win silver for her adopted country.
She finished behind Canada’s Camryn Rodgers, who threw 76.79m to win gold, and China’s Jie Zhao, who threw 74.27m to take bronze.
The Washington Post quoted her as saying, “I’m glad it’s happening now.” Everything happens for a reason, whether bad, good, or ugly. But it’s beautiful.”
Her victory came four years after she was disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics due to administrative errors by Nigerian officials despite not testing positive for banned substances.
Born in the United States to Nigerian parents, Echikunwoke initially planned to represent Nigeria in the 2021 Olympics before switching allegiance to the United States following the Tokyo incident.
Her decision to switch allegiance has paid off, as she is now one of America’s best hammer throwers.
All eyes are now on Tobi Amusan, a Nigerian track and field athlete specialising in the 100-meter hurdles and sprints.
Amusan, the current world record holder in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.12 seconds, set at the 2022 women’s 100-meter hurdles semi-final in Eugene, Oregon, has just qualified for the Women’s 100-meter Hurdles semi-finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She won her heat on Wednesday morning with a time of 12.49 seconds, advancing to her third consecutive Olympic Semi-Final.
“You see, the reason Nigerian athletes are not performing well in the current Olympics and other international sports competitions is not technical but administrative.
“Is it technically correct to mock an athlete who qualified correctly in her event by failing to register her for participation?
“Situations like this will continue if our administrators do not separate politics and sports,” the veteran technical sports director stated.
According to him, most administrators have lost sight of the primary goal of sports development programs, which have previously earned the country some success.
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