By Victor Kanayo
A Nigerian athlete, Annette Nneka Echikunwoke, now has her joy back after she won a silver medal in the women’s hammer throw for the United States of America.
Nneka’s fate turned for good four years after the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and Nigeria’s Ministry of Sports messed her up.
That was after she visited Nigeria for the first time in 2021 after opting to represent Team Nigeria at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
She competed at the Nigerian Olympic Trials, and holds both the Nigerian and African records in the Hammer Throw with a mark of 75.49m.
After being disqualified from competing at Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Annette opted to switch back allegiance to the United States.
She thereafter changed allegiance and represented the United States at Paris 2024 winning a silver medal. She threw her season’s best of 75.48m.
She finished behind Canada’s Camryn Rodgers, who threw 76.79m to win gold, while China’s Jie Zhao was third with a throw of 74.27m.
Now, Nigeria’s loss has become United States’ gain, Heritage Times HT reports.
