Dr. Hugues Fabrice Zango gave Burkina Faso their first global athletics title when he won men’s triple jump world gold in Budapest on Monday.
The 30-year-old won with a best effort of 17.64m to add gold to his world silver last year and Olympic bronze in 2021, which was the West African nation’s first-ever Olympic medal.
The electrical engineering PhD graduate claimed silver at last year’s championships in Oregon and was still lying third heading into his penultimate jump on Monday. But he ensured he’d be topping the podium this time around, overtaking two Cubans – Lázaro Martinez (17.41m) and Cristian Napoles (17.40m) – to climb into top spot.
“The competition was easy for me,” he said.
Zango’s path to glory had become a lot easier in the first round.
Jamaican prodigy Jaydon Hibbert’s hopes of winning world championship triple jump gold ended in agony as he pulled up with a sore right hamstring.
The 18-year-old, the world leader in the event this year with 17.87m coming into the championships in Budapest, received treatment in the stadium.
However, Hibbert conceded defeat and packed his bag as his rivals performed their third jump.
Hibbert was favored to win after defending champion Pedro Pichardo of Portugal withdrew before the championships.
Source: AFP Click here for the link to the full story Zango makes athletics history for Burkina Faso in triple jump | SuperSport
