Annette Nneka Echikunwoke, the Nigerian-American athlete who holds the African record in the hammer throwing event, won an Olympic silver medal for the United States on Tuesday after switching allegiance from Nigeria.
Echikunwoke had missed out on an opportunity to participate in the Tokyo Olympics hammer throwing event in 2021 because the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) had failed to conduct drug tests athletes were required to take.
“On my 25th birthday, I was officially informed that I cannot compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to the negligence of the federation I was set to compete for,” Echikunwoke posted on Instagram in July 2021.
“I can’t even begin to explain how heartbroken I am. It honestly feels like a fever dream. To think of all the hours of throwing sessions, hundreds of hard lifts, all the moments when my body aches in pain and reminding myself ‘it’ll be worth it’, just to keep pushing on, sacrificing time with loved ones… and all I’m left with is this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. This has been the most mentally and emotionally exhausting time of my life.
“To be clear: The [Athletics] Federation of Nigeria did not go through the processes to set up proper testing for us athletes. They left us in the dark about this whole drug testing issue until the last minute where we were left helpless. We cannot let anything like this happen again to athletes, devastating dreams and crushing opportunities,” she added while expressing her disappointments at the sports authorities.
