Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango is aiming to attack the world triple jump indoor record at Meeting Villa de Madrid indoor, organizers announced today. He is the latest addition to a stacked field which also includes the Spanish record holder, an Olympic champion, a World Championship medalist and two World Championship finalists.

The men’s triple jump will be one of the main events on Friday February 21st at the seventh and final stop of the World Athletics Indoor Tour. For the first time since 1986, Madrid could see a world record in the event – then Soviet Maris Bruziks jumped 17.54m. If Zango goes further than Teddy Thamgo’s 17.92m, it would be the first ever global best achieved at Gallur Municipal Sports Center. 

Zango got the spotlight on Sunday February 2nd, when he produced the jump of his life at the Meeting de Paris. There he broke the African triple jump record with a third attempt of 17.77m, improving not just his indoor personal best of 17.58m, but his outdoor best of 17.66m.

World bronze medalist’s 17.77m moved him to equal fourth on the world indoor all-time list which is led by his coach Teddy Thamgo from France (17.92m in 2011). Cuba’s Aliecer Urrutia (17.83m in 1997) and Sweden’s Christian Olsson (17.83m in 2004) also jumped further than Zango, while Russia’s Leonid Voloshin topped the same 17.77m in 1994.

It will be the third time the 26-year-old athlete competes in Spain, after finishing third at Meeting Villa de Madrid outdoor in 2018 and winning at Meeting de Andújar later that year. 

Alongside Zango, Gallur Municipal Sports Center will see on February 21st some of the best triple jumpers in the world. Portugal’s Nelson Évora will be the main threat to the African-man, as he won the Olympic gold in 2008 plus 4 World Championship medals, 2 European Championship medals, 2 World Indoor Championships medals and 2 European Championship medals. 

Hoping to beat them will be the Spanish record holder Pablo Torrijos. With a huge personal best of 17.04m he is in a good shape after jumping 16.75m in Boston on January 25th and 16.65m in Valencia on February 2nd. The 27-year-old man also took a silver at 2015 European Indoor Championship in Prague. 

Azerbaijan’s Alexis Copello – who won bronze at 2009 World Championship -, Cuba’s Christian Nápoles and USA’s Donald Scott have personal bests over 17m, while the two last also placed fifth and sixth at 2019 World Championship. 

Azerbaijan’s Nayim Babayev, USA’s Chris Benard, China’s Ruiting Wu, Cuba’s Jordan Díaz and Turkey’s Necati Er will complete the field at Meeting Villa de Madrid indoor next Friday February 21st.