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An athlete who's still the African Record holder in the women's hammer throw event has won the US title and qualified for the Paris Olympic Games after ditching Nigeria for the United States.
Annette Echikunwoke, the reigning African Record holder in the women's hammer throw, is heading to Paris after winning the US Olympic trials following her switch of allegiance from Nigeria to the United States.
The 27-year-old defeated a highly experienced field of talented throwers, launching her implement to an impressive Season's Best (SB) distance of 74.68m. DeAnna Price settled for the second position with a mark of 74.52m, while Erin Reese scooped the last qualifying spot with 71.21m.
Echikunwoke's journey to qualifying for her second Olympics, but barring unforeseen circumstances, will be making her official debut in Paris, has been a rollercoaster ride that began in 2021.
She switched her nationality from the USA to Nigeria with the assurance of having better chances at making the Tokyo Olympic team and having an iconic international career with her parent's country.
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Within the period of being a Nigerian athlete from January 2021, Echikunwoke smashed the African Record with a new blistering mark of 75.49m in May to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
A month later, she flew into the country for the first time in her life to compete at the Nigerian trials, where she dominated the event by winning her first national title with a distance of 72.07m to secure her spot on the Olympic team to Tokyo.
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Her AR and national title propelled her into the Nigerian athletics limelight, with many projecting her as the next big name from the country and medal-winning prospect at major championships.
However, things turned sour when she was one of the 10 Nigerian athletes disqualified from competing at the Tokyo Games due to not meeting AIU's testing requirements.
With the disappointment of missing her Olympic debut and the uncertainties surrounding the Nigerian federation in terms of proper administrative deliveries, Echikunwoke switched her allegiance back to the United States in June 2022.
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Since then the talented thrower has made the American team to the 2022 World Championships, missed out on the team to Budapest after finishing fifth at the USA Championships, and her comeback this year by sealing her ticket to the Paris Olympic Games.
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19:57 - 11.07.2023
E choke! 2 athletes who abandoned Nigeria for USA fail to qualify for World Championships
Annette Echikunwoke and Ezinne Abba dumped Nigeria to represent USA internationally, but now have failed to make the US team to the World Championships in Budapest.
”The whole point of Nigeria was to just represent my family's home country and their admin side didn't own up to their end of things and I was like I wanna go where I’m valued as an athlete.
"And I felt like USA Track and Field did just that and I've been feeling that since I've been here. So I'm proud to represent the United States and I look forward to do that in Paris,” said Echikunwoke in a post-US Olympic trials win interview with @DyeStat on why she decided to ditch Nigeria for USA.
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