Zango makes athletics history for Burkina Faso in triple jumpMon, 21 Aug 2023 19:42:42 GMT

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 competition was easy for me,” he said.Two Cubans filled the minor medals positions, Lazaro Martinez (17.41) and Cristian Napoles (17.40).Veteran American Will Claye finished seventh in the 32-year-old two-time silver medallist’s seventh and final world championships.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 favoured to win after defending champion Pedro Pichardo of Portugal withdrew before the championships.