With Help From a Kid Sister
Although she placed only tenth in the triple jump at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Françoise Mbango developed a record of finishing second in major meets. She won the silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the 2001 world championships and the 2003 world championships. At both world championships, she was beaten by Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia.
Prior to the 2004 Olympics, Mbango trained alone and then took on a special trainer-her younger sister, Eseppo. She also received a scholarship from the IOC's Olympic Solidarity movement. Mbango arrived in Athens with her hair shaved as a gesture of support for her mother, who was ill. In the final, Mbango fouled her first attempt and then, with her second try, jumped 15.30 metres, setting an African record and bettering her personal best by 25 centimetres. She repeated the distance in the sixth and final round. In fact, her series was so consistent that she was the first woman to surpass 15 metres five times in one competition. Her gold medal was the first for a Cameroonian in athletics.
