Nigerian-US athlete, Annette Nneka Echikunwoke returned from a horrifying setback at Tokyo 2020 to make history at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Echikunwoke on Tuesday night won a silver medal in the women’s hammer throw with a season-best performance of 75.48 meters.
Born in 1996 in Ohio, United States, the 28-year-old initially wanted to represent Nigeria, her homeland at the 2020 Tokyo Games. However, that dream was cut short in Tokyo when she was disqualified due to ineligibility issues.
On her 25th birthday, Echikunwoke and nine other Nigerian track and field athletes were informed that they had been declared ineligible to compete in Tokyo.
Two Nigerian officials notified the athletes that they had missed necessary out-of-competition drug tests due to administrative errors by the country’s athletics organization in the lead-up to Tokyo. None of them had tested positive for a banned substance, yet anti-doping officials disqualified them all.
“I can’t even begin to explain how heartbroken I am,” Echikunwoke wrote on Instagram following her disqualification. “It honestly feels like a fever dream.”
After this horrifying ordeal, Echikunwoke switched her allegiance to the US in 2021.
Fast forward to August 6, 2024, she was back at the Olympics wearing a red, blue, and white uniform this time. She also became the first American woman to win a hammer throw Olympic medal making her one of the one of the top hammer throwers in the world.
She shed but this time around, they were tears of joy.
“I think [this medal] could have happened three years ago, but I’m happy it’s happening now,” Echikunwoke said. “I feel like everything happens for a reason, even if it’s bad or good or ugly or whatever the case may be. This is beautiful.”
Echikunwoke joins the likes of Gloria Alozie who won medals for other countries.