Annette Echikunwoke shocked the world by winning the women's hammer throw silver medal for the United States, after being beaten by Nigeria and Canada's Camryn Rogers in a historic race! /hi

Nigeria-born Annette Echikunwoke took a stunning hammer silver at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday night with a massive 75.48-meter throw for the USA, narrowly losing to world champion Camryn Rogers.

The former Nigerian opted to represent the US after Nigerian officials failed to enter her name for Tokyo Olympics despite qualifying. Frustrated, Echikunwoke found solace in USA and missed Gold medal in Paris by a very small margin.

Echikunwoke opened the competition with a strong throw of 73.11 meters followed by a 71.45-meter attempt.

It was in the third round that she achieved her best throw of the evening, launching the hammer to 75.48 meters.

Although she fouled in the fourth round, she quickly recovered with throws of 73.32 and 73.56 meters in the final two rounds.

However, it was Camryn Rogers of Canada who ultimately claimed the gold medal with a throw of 76.97 meters.

Rogers, the reigning world champion, secured her victory with a powerful and consistent performance throughout the competition.

Jie Zhao of China took home the bronze medal with a throw of 74.27 meters, narrowly edging out Poland’s Anita Włodarczyk, who finished fourth with a best throw of 74.23 meters. Silja Kosonen of Finland completed the top five with a mark of 74.04 meters.

Going into the final, Anita Wlodarczyk was already considered the finest women’s hammer thrower of all time, having become the first woman to win three Olympic titles in the same event.

Despite her fourth-place finish, Wlodarczyk’s legacy remains intact, and she continues to inspire athletes around the world.

Echikunwoke’s journey to this competition has been filled with challenges and triumphs as detailed in her biography on the Olympics website.

As a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria, she initially chose to represent Nigeria, her parents’ homeland, in hammer throwing in 2021.

Her decision was influenced by the intense competition in the USA, and she saw it as an opportunity for a better shot at qualifying for the Olympic Games.

Despite breaking the African record and securing qualification, Echikunwoke and nine other Nigerian athletes were deemed ineligible by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) upon arriving in Tokyo due to a testing protocol error by the African Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

Nigeria, categorized as a high-risk nation for anti-doping matters, requires athletes to undergo three out-of-competition tests within 10 months before the event.

Unfortunately, the AFN failed to comply with this rule for several athletes based in the USA, including Echikunwoke.