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Zango 'keeps his word' to make Burkina Faso history
The Straits Times
|August 23, 2023
Burkina Faso's Hugues Fabrice Zango soared to victory in the men's triple jump for the country's first-ever World Athletics Championships gold on Monday as 18-year-old title favourite Jaydon Hibbert of Jamaica pulled out injured.
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"Look at my big, big, big smiling mouth," Zango said. "It tells you everything. I had so many difficulties and doubts, I have been struggling a lot. I had to travel a very long way to get this gold medal.
"I am proud to be the man who keeps his word. I promised to make history and I did it tonight."
Zango, ranked No. 2 in the world, jumped 17.64 metres on his fifth of six attempts to overtake Cuba's Lazaro Martinez, who won silver with 17.41m after fouling on three of his attempts. Martinez edged out teammate Cristian Napoles, who recorded 17.40m.
The world title was the first in triple jump for any African nation, Zango pointed out.
This story is from the August 23, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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