World Athletics Championships 2023: Top three contenders for men’s triple jump
Pedro Pichardo, Andy Diaz Hernandez and Jaydon Hibbert are the favourites for gold medal in men’s triple jump at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Published : Aug 17, 2023 17:00 IST - 2 MINS READ
FILE PHOTO: Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo in action during Men’s Triple Jump Final at World Athletics Championships 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. | Photo Credit: AFP
A total of 36 athletes will be participating in the men’s triple jump event in the World Athletics Championships 2023 to be held in Budapest from August 19 to 27.
Here are the top three contenders for gold medal in men’s triple jump:
Pedro Pichardo
The 30-year-old who hails from Portugal is the current World and European Champion. Apart from that, Pichardo is an Olympic winner, two-time Diamond League winner, and two-times silver medalist in World Championships.
The current world number three did his best jump of 18.08 meters at the La Habana Copa Cuba de Atletismo in 2015 when he also broke the National record.
Season-best: 17.91m (+2.1m/s) at Doha, Qatar in May 2023
Hugues Fabrice Zango (Burkina Faso)
FILE PHOTO: Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
World No. 2 Hugues Fabrice Zango is a 30-year-old jumper from Burkina Faso. He won bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and followed it up with a silver medal at the World Championships in Eugene last year.
He has a personal best of 18.07m achieved at an indoor meeting in France in 2021.
Season-best: 17.81m (+1.5m/s) at Doha, Qatar in May 2023
Jaydon Hibbert
FILE PHOTO: Jaydon Hibbert during Diamond League at Stade Louis II in July 2023. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
The 18-year-old American is a World U20 champion, a World U20 Championships Silver medalist, and two times National champion. Hibbert is currently placed fifth in the world rankings.
His personal best came during the recently held SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Los Angeles where he jumped 17.87m (+1.3m/s).
Season-best: 17.87m (+1.3m/s) at Los Angeles, USA in May 2023
India’s Praveen Chithravel will also be in the lineup and a top contender for a podium finish after entering the event with an entry of 17.37m (-1.5m/s).