There is no doubt. For Hugues Fabrice Zango as for Burkina Faso, there will be a before and after Budapest. In the Hungarian capital, the Burkinabè athlete lit up the skies of the World Championships in Athletics by clinching the title in the triple jump competition. With a leap to 17.64m, he outclassed his most dangerous competitors, Cubans Lazaro Martinez and Christian Napoles. World indoor triple jump record holder at 18.07 m, Hugues Fabrice Zango enters, with this title of world champion, in the history of his sport and in the history of Burkina in general, a country to which he brought back his first Olympic medal (bronze in Tokyo) in the wake of several distinctions gleaned in various competitions, of which the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States, were not the least. Hugues Fabrice Zango already paved the way to gold in Budapest by winning silver and the title of vice-world champion.
So many elements that did not fail to enthuse the Burkinabè very proud of this athlete with a well-made head who will defend his industrial engineering thesis in the coming months at the University of Béthune, near Lille, in the north. from France. In the Burkinabè press, Hugues Fabrice Zango made the front page of several daily newspapers. “World Athletics Championships: Hugues Fabrice Zang’OR”, for example, headlined L’Observateur Paalga. “Historic gold for Hugues Fabrice Zango,” posted the state daily, Sidwaya. “Historic gold!” The daily does not think so well, because, in Burkinabè memory, never a child of the country, never an African had won the title of world champion in the triple jump.
Zango’s first coach and current secretary general of the Burkinabè Athletics Federation (FBA), Christian Désiré Sanou is not that surprised to see his former student on the top step of the podium in Budapest. This expert in athletics issues thus confides that after having detected Hugues Fabrice Zango ten years ago during a school completion, he had quickly read in him “a great talent who could reach a very good level” .
As for his current manager, Bertrand Zoungrana, from Budapest, he confided that “since 2022, the athlete himself had shown his ambition to win this medal in Budapest”. “He showed positive signals all season by running a consistent course with performances between 17.60 and 17.80m,” he explained.
“Observing the athletic progress of this boy, his motivation, his ambitions and his goals, we thought that one day he should be able to achieve this result. We are proud of him and his determination. He is proof that when you have the will everything is possible, “analyzes Kader Traoré, sports journalist at L’Observateur Paalga. And to remember that at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: “We did not feel Hugues Fabrice Zango was happy enough to have won a bronze medal, unlike his compatriots, because he perhaps felt that the color of the medal did not suit him. »
For the common Burkinabè, it is “joy” and “pride” that dominate. Fayçal Soré, a trader in Ouagadougou, learned the news of Zango’s coronation through social networks. “He brings honor to all Burkinabè,” he rejoices. “It is the merit of Zango and that of all those who have contributed in one way or another to this success,” said Christian Sanou. “This is the biggest sporting honor for Burkina so far,” comments Kader Traoré. “There is nothing more moving and more honorable than hearing the national anthem of your country sung among more than 200 nations and in front of more than 2,000 athletes”, rejoices for his part Missiri Théophile Sawadogo, director technique of the Burkina Faso Athletics Federation.
Of Hugues Fabrice Zango’s career, Christian Sanou, his first coach, remembers that “he is a Burkinabè who knew how to defend the national colors and who has always allowed Burkinabè to hear the Dytaniè (the national anthem of Burkina) during great demonstrations”.
To qualify Zango, Bertrand Zoungrana, he splits himself with a “perseverant who has it in his legs and in his head”.
“For the moment, Zango has achieved a faultless course marked by a gradual ascent”, confides for his part Christian Sanou. “In his plans, the gold medal at Worlds was one of his goals. He did four World Championships. At the first, in Korea, he had three nil tries; at second in Doha, Qatar, he brought home a bronze medal; for his third participation in Eugene, in the United States, he brought back a silver medal, and finally, in Budapest, he won the world title. He has therefore experienced a rise that shows that when you have goals and vision, you can give yourself the means to succeed, ”recaps the athlete’s first coach.
Far beyond the pride around the coronation of a compatriot, the Zango medal is a strong symbol for Burkinabè who live in a particular national context marked by the war against terrorist jihadists. For the trader Abdoul Rasmané Zango, this gold medal says that we can overcome terrorism through courage, determination and resilience. “Rising to the top of the ladder from the bottom through failures reinforces the idea that, despite the difficulties, a better tomorrow for our people is still possible,” he argues.
“If, despite this difficult situation, Burkinabè manage to rise to the roof of the world, it is commendable and it shows the whole world that we are capable of transcending adversity”, explains Bertrand Zoungrana. “This should galvanize the Burkinabè to continue to defend their territory and win victories,” said Christian Sanou.
The coronation of Budapest will not simply give balm to the hearts of Burkinabè. It is also perceived by some as what will further push young athletes from Burkina to follow in the footsteps of their elders. “For a few years, moreover, many children have taken a liking to the thing, even if a difficult marriage between sport and studies complicates the task”, remarked the general secretary of FBA, Christian Sanou. “It is now in the footsteps of Zango that young Burkinabè athletes must walk to do better than him in the years to come”, wishes Bertrand Zoungrana.
For the technical director of the FBA, Missiri Théophile Sawadogo, the opportunity is offered to the actors responsible for the development of Burkinabe athletics to invest more than ever. “Anyone who wants to develop this discipline no longer has any other reason not to invest in it,” he says. And to hope that this medal will allow the National Olympic Committee of Burkina Faso to have more means and more equipment to support the athletes. “African countries, like Botswana, have developed their athleticism from winning a medal like Zango’s. These countries subsequently set up high-level training centers with local coaches and the result is positive,” analyzes Missiri Sawadogo. Because, despite a growing enthusiasm for the various disciplines, the availability of adequate infrastructure remains a challenge for the development of Burkinabè athletics, according to well-informed players and observers.
Christian Sanou relies on the example of the August 4 stadium, the largest in Burkina but closed for two years for renovations. “Our athletes are preparing on dry land with a lot of injuries. However, the lack of means of convenience has a strong impact on the careers of athletes, ”he laments. “It is true that everything is urgent, but a choice should be made based on the existing situation to try to gradually achieve the objectives”, recommends the expert in world athletics.
At the FBA, however, we dream of several other Hugues Fabrice Zango in the years to come. “Let’s work in this direction. If the state supports us, we will have in the next few years not another but Hugues Fabrice Zango. Since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, we have also closely followed a certain number of young people who have won medals at the continental level, ”assures Missiri Théophile Sawadogo.
Now that Budapest is behind us, what about the 2024 Olympics in Paris? “Hugues Fabrice Zango told us that his goal in Paris is Olympic gold with the key to the world record”, revealed to Point Afrique Bertrand Zoungrana. Observers are just as confident. “Zango can claim this Olympic medal,” said journalist Kader Traoré.
“He already has the minimums after having graced us with a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. A medal at Paris 2024 would be the apotheosis of his career. And the authorities must take all the measures so that this dream is accomplished for the good of this country. Zango’s career will have to serve as an example of career and success for Burkinabe youth,” concludes Christian Sanou. What to understand how sport is impacting, not only by the admiration in front of the performances but also by the emulation and the lessons which it inspires with the company.
