Paris, Jan 17 (IANS): Burkina Faso athlete Hugues Fabrice Zango produced the first standout athletics moment of 2021 by leaping to a new indoor triple jump world record of 18.07 metres.

On Saturday at an event in Aubiere, France, Zango added 15 centimetres to the previous record, set by his coach Teddy Tamgho back in 2011, and became the first man to leap beyond 18 metres indoors, according to the official World Athletics website.

The world bronze medallist opened his series with a foul but then landed a valid 17.33m effort in the second round. After another foul in round three, the 27-year-old improved to 17.61m and then 17.70m -- just seven centimetres shy of his lifetime best. However, he saved his best for the last and bounded out to 18.07m in his sixth and final effort.

With the feat, Zango became the first athlete from Burkina Faso to set a world record and the first African athlete to set a world record in a men's jumping event.

Burkina Faso, located in Western Africa, has never won an Olympic medal, and Zango's timely performance means he is a firm contender to amend that statistic at the Tokyo Games.