World Athletics Championship: Nigeria’s Enekwechi zooms into Shot Put final

Femi Fabunmi 

Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, Nigeria’s national record-holder in the men’s Shot Put, has secured a spot in the final of the 2025 World Athletics Championships taking place in Tokyo, Japan, PM News has gathered.

Enekwechi produced a solid performance in the qualification round, recording a best throw of 20.83 metres. That effort placed him 5th in Group A and 7th overall, comfortably within the top 12 athletes who advanced to the final.

This achievement is a special one for the 31-year-old because it marks his fifth appearance at the World Championships.

In the previous edition held in Budapest in 2023, he narrowly missed out on the final, so reaching this stage now is seen as an important comeback and a chance at redemption.

His series of attempts showed consistency:

First attempt: 20.83m
Second attempt: 20.71m
Third attempt: 20.83m again
That steady display proved enough to guarantee qualification, even though the top throwers in the field went beyond 21 metres.

Meanwhile, in the women’s Discus Throw, Nigeria was represented by Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons and Obiageri Amaechi, but both athletes were unable to advance.

Amaechi, competing in Group A, threw 55.69m in her first attempt and followed it up with 48.82m on her second.

Though she placed 16th in her group, the distance was not enough to push her into the final. This was only her second World Championships outing for Nigeria, giving her more international experience despite the result.

Onyekwere, one of Nigeria’s most experienced female throwers, started well with an opening mark of 59.45m. Unfortunately, her last two throws were fouls, which left her short of the qualifying distance.

Since her debut at the Doha 2019 Championships, this has been her fourth consecutive World Championships, highlighting her consistency at the top level of the sport.

For Team Nigeria, Enekwechi’s qualification provides a major boost and keeps hopes alive for a medal in the throwing events.

With his experience and resilience, he will be aiming to deliver his very best performance when the men’s Shot Put final takes place.