Pickerington North graduate Annette Echikunwoke earns silver medal in Olympic hammer throw
Former Pickerington North standout Annette Echikunwokemade Olympic history Tuesday in the hammer throw in Paris.
A 2014 graduate of North, Echikunwoke became the first U.S. female athlete to win a medal in the event, earning the silver with a top effort of 75.48 meters.
It was a North American sweep for the top two honors as Canada’s Camryn Rogers won gold (76.97).
Echikunwoke qualified for the Olympics by finishing first at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 23 in Eugene, Oregon.
Representing Nigeria in 2020, Echikunwoke qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo but was disqualified. She was among a group of Nigerian athletes who missed doping screenings due to an administrative error.
At North, Echikunwoke finished third in the shot put (42 feet, 4 ½ inches) in the Division I state meet in 2014.
In 2017, she won the NCAA title in the hammer throw for the University of Cincinnati, the program’s first national championship.
Watching from his home Tuesday with family and friends, North track and field coach Dave Spring said Echikunwoke's journey to the Olympics thrilled the Pickerington community.
"It's been great," Spring said. "We haven't gone back to school yet, but the amount of emails and text messages from other teachers and administrators and everybody, it's been a really cool reaction from everybody in Pickerington, and in Columbus and Ohio for that matter."
Spring took over the North boys program in 2008. He added the girls program to his responsibilities in 2020.
"(Echikunwoke) had a few opportunities to throw hammer in high school, but when she went down to the University of Cincinnati, she really excelled and put a lot of work in and really dedicated herself to the sport," Spring said. "That's where things really started to take off for her."
The hammer throw is not a postseason event in the Ohio high school spring season.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Annette Echikunwoke earns silver for U.S. in Olympic hammer throw
