Newly crowned African champion in men’s shot put, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, has said that he always put Nigeria first in anything he does in his career.
The U.S.-based Enekwechi earned Team Nigeria’s first gold medal at the ongoing 2024 African Senior Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon, throwing a championship record of 21.22m.
Enekwechi, who is African Indoor Record holder in the men’s shot put, made it a hattrick of titles at the African Senior Championships after extending his dominance on the continent to six years. He currently has three African Championship titles, having won in Asaba 2018 and Mauritius 2022, and is tied for the most gold medals by a male shot putter in the Championships’ history.
Speaking with The Guardian at the team’s NouBou Hotel in Douala, Enekwechi said: “At any given opportunity to represent our country at a competition, I always put Nigeria first. That is the spirit and it is paying off for me.”
At Mauritius 2022 edition of the African Senior Athletics Championships, Enekwechi bettered his Championships Record (CR) of 21.20m set two years earlier in Saint Pierre by two centimetres, striking gold with a new record of 21.22m.
The multiple continental winner, who recently grabbed his fifth national title in Benin City with a mark of 21.37m, has been having a sensational season, having bettered his Personal Best (PB) and National Record (NR) to 21.91m in May.
Apart from winning his third consecutive gold medal, the Nigerian has consistently broken the competition’s record with his winning throws at every edition of the African Senior Championships he has attended: Asaba 2018 (21.08m); Mauritius 2022 (21.20m); and now Douala 2024 (21.22m). He revealed that his major focus now is how to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians at the fast approaching Paris 2024 Olympics Games.
“Currently, I am among the top shot putters in the world. At the Olympics, my intention is to make it to the final first, and from there anything can happen. Who says Ebuka cannot return home with a medal at the Olympics? I will go for it with the Nigerian never-say-die spirit. I pray I achieve my dream in Paris.”
