Burkina Faso's star triple jump athlete takes gold at Glasgow indoor championship

Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango took the gold medal in the triple jump at the World Athletics Indoor Championship underway in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Saturday.

The 30-year-old athlete won the final after leaping 17.53 metres on his fifth attempt, a victory he described as really important for his country.

"We don't have big names in sport in Burkina Faso. We need examples like me to really bring something new in the sport politics in the country,” he said.

“Since 2019, when I started winning some medals on the global stage, the Ministry of Sport started giving sponsorship to young athletes.”

A Doctor of Electrical Engineering, Zango became world champion in the outdoor triple jump in Hungary in August last year, with a jump of 17.64 metres.

He became Burkina Faso’s first ever Olympic medallist in the 2020 Tokyo games winning a bronze medal in the triple jump event.

This was Zango's third success since the start of 2024, auguring well for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

He plans to end his athletic career following the games, and dreams of ending on a high note by giving Burkina Faso its first Olympic gold medal.