AFN explains how Echikunwoke dumped Nigeria for U.S.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has reacted to the controversy surrounding the decision of Nigeria-born hammer thrower, Annette Nneka Echikunwoke, to compete for Team USA instead of Nigeria at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics.

Echikunwoke, on Tuesday night, won a silver medal for the United States in the women’s Hammer Throw, a
a feat that came on the night both Favour Ofili and Blessing Oborududu lost in the final of the women’s 200m and women’s freestyle wrestling respectively.

Her victory for the United States sparked anger among Nigerians, who felt the athlete should have given Team Nigeria her first medal in Paris if the appropriate steps were taken.

However, AFN President, Tonobok Okowa, told The Guardian, yesterday, that the federation has no blame on Echikunwoke’s switch of allegiance to the United States.

“I don’t know why some Nigerians will easily jump to conclude that the AFN rejected Echikunwoke. That is not correct. The problem started at the last Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, when Echikunwoke and some other athletes claimed that they were not paid their allowances by Team Nigeria.

She wanted to represent Nigeria at the Olympics in Tokyo.

“But Nigerians should remember that the election that brought the current AFN Board into office was held in June 2021, while the Olympic Games held the following month (July) in Tokyo. By the time we came on board, everything about the Tokyo Olympics had been done by the previous AFN board and the sports ministry. I don’t see any reason why some people will turn the blame on the current AFN board. I want people to get a clearer picture of what transpired between the athlete and the sports ministry at the Tokyo Olympics,” Okowa stated.

Echikunwoke, on her first-ever outing at the Olympics, threw a Season-best Best of 75.48m to win silver for USA.

The Guardian recalls that Echikunwoke visited Nigeria for the first time in 2021 after opting to represent Team Nigeria at the Tokyo Olympics. She competed at the Nigerian Olympic Trials and holds both the Nigerian and African records in the Hammer Throw with a mark of 75.49m.

After being disqualified from competing at the Tokyo Olympics, following the failure on the part of the then AFN board to pay for the Out-of-Competition Test (OCT) for the athletes, including Echikunwoke, Favour Ofili, and some others, she opted to switch back allegiance to the United States.