Being denied an opportunity to represent your mother country at the Olympic games due to no fault of yours, one would have easily given up on their aspirations due to the setback.
Well, that is not the case for Nigeria’s Annette Echikunwoke the current women’s hammer-throwing silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Annette Echikunwoke was set to represent Nigeria at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan but was disqualified with nine other athletes after failing to undergo a mandatory test due to an error by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.
The Olympic committee accused the Nigeria Federation of Athletics of negligence in the discharge of their duties to ensure all 10 athletes were availed for the mandatory tests.
The disappointment influenced Annette Echikunwoke to change allegiance and represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics winning a silver medal in the hammer throw event. She currently holds the African area record in hammer throw, with a throw of 75.49 m in Tucson in 2021.
Many Nigerians online have commended her for such a wise decision while lambasting their country’s Athletics Federation for being a hindrance to the progress of Athletics in the country citing a similar issue with Favour Ofili who was ruled out from the women’s 100-meter race contest due to a similar administrative lapse on the part of their Athletics Federation.
