Echikunwoke makes history as first USA woman to win a medal in hammer throw
Prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic, no woman from USA or Canada has ever won an Olympic medal in the hammer throw since the event made its debut at the Olympics in 2000 in Sydney, Australia.
That changed Tuesday evening inside the main bowl of the Stade de France in Saint-Dennis, Paris France where both nations finished first and second.
Canadian, Camryn Rogers won the gold with 76.97m, her fifth of six throws, supplanting Nigeria-born Annette Echikunwoke, the surprise winner of the US Olympic Trials who had moved into the lead with her third round throw of 75.48m.
Rogers had led from the start with her first round throw of 74.11m with Azerbaijan’s Hanna Skydan second with 73.27m while Echikunwoke was fourth (73.11m) behind three time Olympic and four time world champion, Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland (73.17).
China’s Jie Zhao moved top with her 74.27m effort in the second round while the Nigerian-American dropped to fifth before responding in the third round with her second career best throw of 75.48m, one centimeter outside of the Nigerian and African record of 75.49m she set in May 2021.
The 28 year old could have been in Nigeria’s green and white colours at the Games if not for the negligence of Athletics Federation of Nigeria officials who failed to conduct the mandatory three out of competition doping tests on the athlete, a prerequisite for participation for Nigerian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.
Echikunwoke and nine other Nigerian athletes were thus sent back home from Tokyo.
Disappointed, Echikunwoke, who had earlier changed allegiance from USA to Nigeria in December 2020, applied to World Athletics to change back to her country of birth where things are organized, a decision the Nigerian American will never regret.
