Burkina Faso has Bagged its First Ever Medal at the World Athletics Championships

The seventeenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, which are organized by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), kicked off last week Friday in Doha, Qatar. The international sporting event features an array of track and field competitive sports including athletics, high jump, triple jump, discus throwing, shot put and several others. Fabrice Zango, a triple jumper from Burkina Faso, set an African record of 17.66m and took home the bronze medal—the first ever medal from the World Athletics Championships for the West African country, the BBC reports.

Just earlier this year, Zango set an African record of 17.58m for triple jumping at the Indoor Meeting de Paris. The 2018 African Champion in the men's triple jump, Zango attributes his successes to training with the former World Indoor and Outdoor Champion, Teddy Tamgho of France. Speaking about his win, Zango said that, "Finally Burkina Faso enters into world athletics." He added that, "I hope many medals will follow. They are celebrating now in Burkina Faso and I can only imagine how it will be when I get there."

Zango competed withChristian Taylor, a four-time World Championship winner and his fellow American rival, Will Claye. Taylor took home the gold medal with a distance of 17.92m (his season best) while Claye followed closely in second place with a distance of 17.74m.