Zango leaps into record books with world indoor triple jump mark

FILE PHOTO: Athletics – Diamond League – London Anniversary Games – London Stadium, London, Britain – July 20, 2019 Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango in action during the men’s triple jump Action Images via Reuters/David Klein

Hugues Fabrice Zango became the first athlete from Burkina Faso to set a world record when he posted the longest ever indoor triple jump with a leap of 18.07 meters at an event in Aubiere in France on Saturday.

Zango, who won bronze at the World Championships in 2019, added 15 centimeters to the previous record, set by his own coach, Frenchman Teddy Tamgho, in 2011.

Zango, 27, started with a foul but warmed up with a leap of 17.33 meters before steadily increasing his best to 17.61m and then 17.70m.

With his final effort, he floated beyond 18m to break his own previous lifetime best by 30 centimeters.

“Bravo champion,” said Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Kabore.

“(Zango) holds the Burkinabe flag high, filling us with pride,” Kabore said in a Facebook post. “I ask him to keep going in preparation for a brilliant performance at the next Olympic Games.”

Britain’s Jonathan Edwards holds the outdoor triple jump world record with a leap of 18.29m in Gothenburg in 1995.