Defending champion Hugues Fabrice Zango lost his world title to Italy’s Andy Diaz Hernandez, who won his first global title in the triple jump with a world leading 17.80 metres, on Day 1 of the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.
China’s Zhu Yaming jumped 17.33m for the silver medal while world champion Hugues Fabrice Zango from Burkina Faso settled for the bronze medal with 17.15m during the opening session of action in Nanjing’s Cube.
Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Zhu thrilled the local audience by achieving his season’s best jump of 17.33m in the third round, securing silver ahead of Brazil’s Almir Dos Santos (17.22m) and China’s Su Wen (17.09m).
In the fourth round, Jamaica’s Jordan Scott jumped 17.10m, but Zango surpassed him in the fifth with 17.15m, moving to fourth. The final round saw no improvements, confirming Zhu’s silver.
Dos Santos initially took bronze but was later disqualified for shoe regulation violations, allowing Zango to claim bronze.
This bronze makes Zango a six-time global medalist, following his world indoor title in Glasgow in 2024, world gold in 2023, silver in 2022, bronze in 2019, and Olympic bronze from Tokyo in 2021.
“The race [competition] was really hard. I did my season best, and I’m getting better and better,” said Zango at the mixed zone.
“This time was too short for me to get ready for the competition. But I have to prepare myself to defend my world outdoor title. I had a bumpy start this year, since my coach was coaching me in distance. I had to just look at my video, trying to fix some point.
“I took a long break in order to restore. So it was a little short preparation. But today, I try to fix some things myself and try to get better in the competition, which was good. It’s good to see 17m again.
“I really did everything to try to get 17, which I know was the performance I needed to be among the six for the last jumps. So for the last jump, I put everything in the hope. I took risks, which didn’t pay off today, but one day it will. I think I will make a great result soon.”
“Next month I will start my outdoor season, I will continue my preparation and get back to endurance, resistance and other trainings. I think my shape will come for the final of the Diamond League, and then for the world championships,” he added.
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