Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo emerges winner of men’s triple jump Olympic gold

Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo has been crowned men’s triple jump Olympic champion on Thursday, winning with a national record of 17.98 metres.

The 28-year-old set his best mark in round three.

ZHU Yaming of People’s Republic of China took silver with a personal best jump of 17.57m, while Burkino Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango secured the bronze with 17.47m – his country’s first Olympic medal.

Pichardo succeeds two-time Olympic champion Christian Taylor, who was unable to defend his title after rupturing his Achilles earlier this year.

Pichardo was the 2012 World Junior Champion and the 2013 World Championship silver medalist. His 17.79 m (58 ft 4+1⁄4 in) in early 2014 was the best triple jump of the year.

In 2015, his 17.94 m (58 ft 10+1⁄4 in) made him the #6 performer ever. A week later he improved to 18.06 m (59 ft 3 in), making him the #3 performer ever and the best performance the world has seen since 1996 (when Pichardo was only 3 years old)