Jump to content

Annette Echikunwoke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Annette Echikunwoke
Echikunwoke at the 2024 United States Olympic trials
Personal information
Full nameAnnette Nneka Echikunwoke
Born (1996-07-29) July 29, 1996 (age 28)
Pickerington, Ohio, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportAthletics
EventHammer throw
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Hammer throw

Annette Nneka Echikunwoke (/əˌtʃiːkəˈwoʊkeɪ/ ə-CHEE-kə-WOH-kay; born July 29, 1996)[1][2] is a Nigerian-American hammer thrower who lives in Ohio, United States. She was due to represent Nigeria at the 2020 Summer Olympics, but was disqualified due to the negligence of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. She changed allegiance and represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the event, the first Olympic medal for the U.S. in the women's hammer throw event. She holds the African area record in hammer throw, with a throw of 75.49 m in Tucson in 2021.

Early life

[edit]

Annette Echikunwoke started athletic throwing events in school after she won the shot put and discus throw at a sports day event, deciding that if she was good she might as well continue.[3] Her cousin is actress Megalyn Echikunwoke.[4]

Career

[edit]

Echikunwoke is from Pickerington, Ohio and attended the University of Cincinnati for both her undergraduate and master's degree, where she was on the track and field team. With Cincinnati she won the weight throw event at the 2017 NCAA Championship, also becoming the university's first NCAA champion in track and field.[2][3] In 2020, she elected to represent her parents' home country of Nigeria in Olympic national selection.[3][5]

In 2021, Echikunwoke threw four successive Nigerian and African records in hammer, setting the mark at 75.49 m USATF Throws Festival in Tucson, Arizona, on May 22, 2021.[6][7] She is ranked #7 in the world in the women's hammer throw; she has previously been ranked #101 in the world in women's shot put with a personal best of 16.79 m in 2017. She also throws discus and 20lb weight (a US indoor equivalent to the hammer).[5]

Echikunwoke was due to represent Nigeria at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but was told on July 29, 2021 that she could not compete due to the negligence of the Nigerian Federation not setting up drug tests and not relaying her need to share her whereabouts. Ten Nigerian athletes set to compete in 2021, a large percentage of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC)'s delegation, were disqualified because of the negligence of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. The AFN said that many of its athletes based in the United States did not keep the AFN updated on their location, though they did not name Echikunwoke; she claimed that the AFN requested her location for drug testing six times, and that she provided the location but no officials ever came to perform the tests.[7]

Echikunwoke represented the United States in the women's hammer throw at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She threw 75.48 meters, placing 2nd at the event.[8] Her silver medal for this was the first Olympic medal for the U.S. in the women's hammer throw event.[9]

National titles

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "ECHIKUNWOKE Annette Nneka". Paris 2024 Olympics. Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Harrington, Joe. "Hammer thrower, former University of Cincinnati athlete and Olympian, Annette Echikunwoke out of Tokyo games". The Enquirer. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Athletics ECHIKUNWOKE Annette". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "megalyn: So my cousin is an unstoppable super star Olympian! Please follow and support her while she prepares to win the gold for Nigeria!!". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Annette ECHIKUNWOKE". World Athletics. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  6. ^ Jess Whittington (May 23, 2021). "Crouser joins 23-metre club in Tucson". World Athletics. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Officials lied about my whereabouts, says disqualified Echikunwoke". Punch Newspapers. July 30, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  8. ^ Kilgore, Adam (August 7, 2024). "Annette Echikunwoke won Olympic silver for U.S. team she didn't think she'd make". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "U.S. firsts at 2024 Olympics: Ledecky, Durant, Biles, more". ESPN.com. August 10, 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Annette_Echikunwoke&oldid=1246493002"