TicketsCINCINNATI — Former Cincinnati track and field standouts Annette Echikunwoke and Amanda Ngandu-Ntumba each claimed national titles for their respective countries Friday.
Echikunwoke opened the competition with a throw of 75.47 meters, a mark that held up as the winner at the 2026 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships. She also produced four of the meet's five longest throws.
Amanda Ngandu-Ntumba dominated the 2026 French Championships, capturing two national titles. She claimed the discus event with a commanding 60.47-meter throw —finishing nearly four meters ahead of the field — and secured the shot put title with a mark of 15.44 meters.
Echikunwoke, a UC Hall of Famer, is one of the most decorated female athletes in Cincinnati history. She won the 2017 NCAA indoor weight throw national title and still holds the school record in four of the five throwing events she competed in at UC. She was a seven-time American Athletic Conference champion and a four-time first-team All-America honoree.
Ngandu-Ntumba had immediate success in her lone season as a Bearcat in 2025, earning first-team All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a program-record throw of 60.77 meters. The Saint-Étienne, France, native remains the only Bearcat in program history to earn first-team All-America honors in the discus.