Team Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi has made it to the final of the men’s shot put at the 2025 World Athletics Championships (WAC) in Tokyo, after a fine qualifying session on Saturday.
The US-born Nigerian clinched the spot with two good throws, the best of which was 20.83m, to place fifth in Group A and seventh overall. It is his third consecutive global championship final.
Enekwechi, who set the African and Nigerian record of 22.10m on July 5, 2025, will now aim to improve on that mark as the stakes increase.
New Zealand’s Tom Wals tops the qualifiers with a throw of 21.74m, with Americans Adrian Piperi (21.47m) and Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser (21.37m) following. Sweden’s Wictor Petersson (21.14m), Lincoln GBR of Scotland (21.00m), and Leonardo Fabbri of Italy (20.95m) also made the final.
It was, however, a poor outing for Nigeria’s female representatives. Obiageri Pamela Amaechi placed 16th with a best throw of 55.69m, far from the 62.65m qualifying mark thrown by Dutch thrower Alida Van Daalen. Nigeria’s national record holder, Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons, also failed to make the grade, throwing 59.45m in her best attempt.
The two performances were far below their bests for the season Amaechi with 64.80m and Onyekwere-Lyons with 64.96m, a national record.
With the championships still on, Nigerian hopes now rest on Enekwechi, who would be looking to turn his form into a medal-winning throw.
