Fabrice Zango wins first ever medal for Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango made history on Thursday as he claimed his country’s first ever Olympic medal in the men’s triple jump.

The 28-year-old, who also won bronze at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, jumped 17.47 metres to claim third spot on the podium.

Pedro Pichardo of Portugal won gold with a jump of 17.98m to claim his first Olympic title, while China’s Zhu Yaming took silver at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium with 17.57m.

And with Zango’s medal for Burkina Faso, the African nation become the 100th country to win a medal in athletics at the Olympic Games.

Before Thursday’s final, Zango was targeting the gold medal in an effort to make history.

‘I’m on a mission, so I have to produce my best to bring back the gold to Burkina Faso,’ he said.

On the empty stadium, the triple jumper said: ‘All sportspeople like to celebrate victory or accept defeat with the public, but we try to be as professional as we can. We will try to produce our best.’

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The Cuban-born Pichardo recorded his winning distance on his third attempt to clinch his first Olympic title.

He previously won silver medals at the 2013 and 2015 world championships while representing Cuba.

Zango, meanwhile, competed at the Olympics in Rio five years ago and has also been present at two world championships.