PICKERINGTON, Ohio — A Labor Day celebration of Olympic-sized proportions honored a historic win by an Ohioan.

What You Need To Know

  • This year's Pickerington Labor Day parade featured Annette Echikunwoke, with the crowd helping welcome her back home from her historic win at the Paris Olympics

  • Echikunwoke is the first American woman to medal at the summer games in the hammer throw competition 

  • Echikunwoke grew up in Pickerington

Annette Echikunwoke is the first female American to medal in the hammer throw competition at the summer games, earning a silver at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Families lined the streets near Victory Park in Pickerington on Monday to welcome her back home to the community.

 

Echikunwoke rode in the town’s annual Labor Day parade atop a patriotic float decked in red, white and blue, complete with a giant silver medal.

“It feels great,” she said. “It feels amazing. Especially to be honored in my hometown. So, it’s awesome.”

People clapped and cheered as Echikunwoke passed by near the front of the parade, waving and saying "thanks."

“We were very proud,” said Pickerington resident Vicki Bement, who watched the Olympics on television. “Not that we knew her, we don’t know her at all, but just that she came from here and that she represented our town and our nation so well.”

This year marks the 76th annual Labor Day parade, hosted by the Lions Club. The event helps raise funds for Honor Flight Columbus, an organization that brings senior veterans to visit the military memorials in Washington, D.C.