Annette Echikunwoke: From Olympic heartbreak to silver with USA

Instead, she decided that her future was with the country of her birth.

Echikunwoke made her debut at the World Championships in Eugene in 2022, finishing 12th in the final.

She was a surprise winner of the 2024 US Olympic trials, throwing a season’s best of 74.86m.

She bettered that in the Stade de France on Tuesday evening as her mark of 75.48m placed her behind Canada’s Camryn Rogers.

“I felt pretty secure coming into the competition. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” Echikunwoke said.

“It’s electric – just being on the US team, being in the final, coming into the stadium and hearing everyone [be] so loud.

“[To be] the first woman to medal (in hammer throw) for the US, it’s really an honour.

“It’s really a vindication. I wanted the experience.”

Today, Echikunwoke stands proud, having moved on from the chapter of her career where she could have competed under the flag of Nigeria.

“I knew there was always more, even from that time,” she said.

“I’ve forgiven the past and we just move forward.”

A representative of Nigeria’s sports minister would not be drawn on her success.

“We are focusing on our own athletes now, not the one that has gone to represent [an]other country,” the spokesperson told BBC Sport Africa.

The AFN did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment on Echikunwoke’s silver medal.