Enekwechi out of African Championships

Three-time African champion Chukwuebuka Enekwechi will not be able to defend his shot put title at this year’s CAA African Championships in Ghana after withdrawing from Nigeria’s contingent, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Enekwechi’s absence was confirmed on Monday, a day before the championship begins at the University of Ghana Sports Complex, where the event will run from May 12 to 17.

His withdrawal leaves Nigeria with a lean line-up in the shot put events following the absence of women’s African shot put record holder, Jessica Oji.

Decathlon national record holder Jami Schlueter is also unable to join the rest of the Nigerian contingent in Ghana due to visa issues.

“Another withdrawal for Nigeria — Chukwuebuka Enekwechi will not be participating at the 2026 African Championships in Ghana. Big Chuks will not be defending the title he won three consecutive times. Emmanuel Audu and Divine Oladipo will represent Nigeria in the shot put events in Accra,” Making of Champions’ Christopher Maduewesi posted on X on Monday.

Enekwechi’s absence comes as a surprise after he recently competed at the Simbine Classic in South Africa.

All efforts to ascertain why the 33-year-old will miss the championship were unsuccessful, as officials and coaches of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria were unreachable as of the time of filing this report.

His season’s best mark in the event is 21.74m, which earned him a second-place finish at the Drake Relays on April 24.

The 33-year-old has won the last three editions of the African Championships since making his debut at the 2018 edition in Asaba.

Earlier this season, Enekwechi delivered a modest performance in the men’s shot put at the World Indoor Championships, finishing 11th with a best throw of 20.04m in a field of 17 athletes.

Last year, he became the first African to surpass the 22-metre barrier in the men’s shot put. He also owns seven of the top 10 African all-time marks after delivering a groundbreaking performance at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where he broke the African record with a throw of 22.10m to finish third.