‘No regrets dumping USA for Nigeria’

The 25-year-old Cincinnati native performance was one of the major highlights of the just concluded Nigerian Olympic Trials held at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

Her throw of 72.07m made her the first woman to throw past 70m in the Hammer throw on Nigerian soil and broke the Nigerian and African Record when she threw a huge 75.49m in the women’s Hammer Throw at the USATF Throws Festival in Arizona last month  to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

“I really thought it was just better to represent Nigeria because it would feel more connected here.” the University of Cincinnati (UC) graduate said.

“I just felt I would have more of an opportunity here and to just represent Nigeria at the highest stage would be awesome. My parents were born and raised here so why not?” She said

Echikunwoke, who holds two degrees, a bachelors in Actuarial Science and Marketing for her Masters, revealed that she is looking forward to making her international bow for Nigeria at a world stage, adding that she still has areas to work on before the start of the Games.

“I am super excited to go and represent Nigeria at the highest stage in the world and show them what we are made of. I definitely have areas to improve but I am excited because I know there is much more I can bring to Nigeria and the world.”