Echikunwoke qualifies for hammer throw final

Echikunwoke qualifies for Hammer throw final

Nigeria’s loss is proving to be USA’s gain as Annette Echikunwoke qualified for the final of the women’s hammer throw on the first day of action at the 18th World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA.

Echikunwoke who holds the Nigerian and African hammer throw record threw 72.60m to qualify as one of the best 12 after failing to hit the automatic qualification mark.

The 25 year old was scheduled to compete for Nigeria at the Tokyo Olympics last year in Japan but was declared ineligible by the Athletics Intergrity Unit after she failed to undergo a mandatory three out of competition test, a prerequisite for Nigerian athletes following the classification of the country as a high risk doping nation.

Echikunwoke had changed allegiance from USA to Nigeria in December 2020 in order to compete for her fatherland.

She however decided to change allegiance back to the USA after the unpleasant experience she went through in 2021 and her request was granted in July 2022 by World Athletics.

Nigeria may not be represented in the hammer throw final following the inability of Oyesade Olatoye to hit required qualification or be among the 12 best, but an athlete with a Nigerian name will be in the final.