Chukwuebuka Enekwechi Makes History as First African to Throw Beyond 22m in Shot Put
At the 2025 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi made history by becoming the first African man to throw over 22 meters in the shot put. His incredible throw of 22.10 meters earned him third place and broke the African record.
The 32-year-old athlete now holds seven of the top ten African shot put marks ever recorded. “It’s the best performance of my career,” Enekwechi said proudly, scoring 1246 points for his effort.
This Prefontaine Classic was one of the most competitive shot put events in history. For the first time, five athletes threw over 22 meters in the same competition. The winner was Joe Kovacs with 22.48m, followed closely by Roger Steen at 22.11m, and then Enekwechi. Adrian Piperi and Rajindra Campbell also threw over 22m.
The meet itself was historic beyond the shot put—it scored a record 98,121 points overall, making it the highest-scoring single-day athletics meet ever.
Nigeria’s success extended to other events too:
• Tobi Amusan finished second in the 100m hurdles with 12.38 seconds.
• Sprinter Rosemary Chukwuma placed fourth in the women’s 100m Invitational with 11.09 seconds.
• Favour Ofili came fifth in the main women’s 100m race.
• Ezekiel Nathaniel had a strong Diamond League debut, placing third in the men’s 400m hurdles with 47.88 seconds.
The day also featured two new world records:
• Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet set a new women’s 5000m record at 13:58.06.
• Faith Kipyegon reclaimed her women’s 1500m world record with a time of 3:48.68.