Burkina Faso’s track and field hero Hug Fabrice Django, 30, has given his country its first ever World Athletics gold medal. Django won gold in the men’s triple jump at the World Athletics Championships 2023 at the Budapest National Stadium in Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday. The triple jump final was contested through six rounds, and Django leaped 17.64 meters in the fifth round to beat Cuba’s top triple jumpers Lazaro Martinez (17.41) and Christian Napoles (17.40).스포츠토토
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in western Africa. It is one of the world’s poorest countries, with a population of just over 21 million and a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $886 per capita as of last year. Like many African countries, soccer is the most popular sport, with other sports not making much of a splash.
Django has brought dreams to his impoverished country’s athletics barrenness. He finished third in the men’s triple jump at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, earning Burkina Faso its first world championship medal in history. He followed that up with a third-place finish at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, his first Olympic medal, and a silver medal at last year’s World Championships in Eugene. At this event, he finally reached the top of the podium. “I made a promise to my people that I would make history, and today I fulfilled that promise,” Django said in an emotional speech.
Meanwhile, controversial marijuana user Shakari Richardson (USA) won her first major gold medal in the women’s 100m final.
She qualified for the final by finishing third in her heat in 10.84 before winning the final in a meet record time of 10.65. Shericka Jackson was second in 10.72, while Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica), the previous meet record holder (10.67) and five-time world champion in the 100 meters, was third in 10.77.
Richardson was the subject of controversy after winning the women’s 100-meter final at the U.S. Track and Field Trials for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in 10.86 seconds and then failing a drug test for marijuana. At the time, Richardson said: “Before the trials, my mom (who I had been estranged from for a long time) passed away. It was very emotionally difficult for me, so I made that choice,” he said at the time, but was ultimately suspended for one month just before the Olympics.
Richardson, who is known for her hostile reaction to the media, gave an emotional post-race interview to the Associated Press’ video service APTN, saying, “My advice to everybody is, ‘Don’t give up, don’t let the media get to you, don’t let other people’s judgment get to you.