Triple jumper Hugues Fabrice Zango has been making history for both Burkina Faso and himself throughout 2021.
The 28-year-old began the year by becoming the first man ever to jump over 18 metres indoors, which he then followed up with a new African record outdoors.
Zango, who combines his athletics with studying for a PhD in electrical engineering, will now return home for the first time in 18 months as Burkina Faso’s first ever Olympic medallist.
“I am happy for the first ever medal for my country but I am pretty sad because I was not able to put in a good performance,” he told BBC Sport Africa.
“What makes me sad is that all season I was able to regularly produce some good performances, but at these Olympics things were really hard for me – I don’t know why.
“I was really good physically and mentally, I didn’t feel any pressure in particular, but I really don’t know what happened.
“We will take a little time to analyse what happened in these Olympics to find a solution for the next challenge.”
