Nigerian Athlete of the Year: Enekwechi enthrones himself in history books with brilliant Diamond League finish in Brussels

Shot Put Record holder Chukwuebuka Enekwechi capped his exceptional 2004 season with an impressive position finish at the Brussels Diamond League, thus sealing his name as the undisputed Nigerian Athlete of the Year.

Nigerian Athlete of the Year: Enekwechi enthrones himself in history books with brilliant Diamond League finish in Brussels, In a season where most Nigerian athletes failed to deliver in all ramifications, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi stood tall among his peers and is unarguably the Athlete of the Year following his brilliant position finish at the Brussels Diamond League.

The Nigerian record holder became the first thrower from the country to qualify for a Diamond League final, which he gave a good account of himself with an impressive distance of 21.29m to finish fifth in the men’s Shot Put final, thus making it 21 times he has gone over the 21.00m mark this year.

Enekwechi’s Brussels performance was a fantastic end to his exceptional long season, which saw him qualify for all major finals and seal his spot as the undisputed best African thrower after winning two continental gold medals.

Undeniably the best year of his career, here’s Enekwechi’s achievements in 2024.

• African Indoor Record (21.63m)
• World Indoor Championships finalist (sixth position)
• African Games champion    
• Nigerian Record (21.91m)
• African Champion   
• Paris Olympic Games finalist (sixth)
• Diamond League finalist (fifth)

The 31-year-old broke the African Record of 21.47m set by Janus Robberts in 2001, with a new mark of 21.63m in February, and almost replicated the same distance at the world indoor championships by launching his implement to 21.60m for a sixth-place finish.

Outdoors, he continued with the same performance consistency as he smashed his Nigerian record with a new mark of 21.91m at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League in May – just 6cm short of Robberts African Record of 21.97m.

Rhasidat Adeleke finished third at the Diamond League final in Brussels, which also came with a massive reward.

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With his outstanding 2024 season, Enekwechi propelled himself as the best in the continent and the Top 7 of the world’s best Shot Put throwers.