Andy Diaz Hernandez defended his primacy and triumphed in the men’s triple jump at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 with his victorious leap of 17.47m produced, just like last year in Nanjing, in the first round.

As befits a huge dance enthusiast, on Friday, the Italian’s moves on the runway were as smooth as on the dance floor. The jump from the very first round was a significant improvement on his season’s best, adding 57 centimetres to his mark from the recent Italian Indoor Championships.

Before the start of the competition in Toruń, there was a lot of speculation about whether Diaz, the defending champion, could replicate his success. He came to Poland with a season’s best of 16.90m that placed him 12th on this year’s world list.

“I wanted to win here, but I was not sure I could do it,” he admitted. “All my season was affected by the injury I got at the beginning of the year. I made my final decision to compete at the World Indoors only after I performed okay at the national championships.”

On Friday, the 30-year-old proved to be destined for the major championships. Unlike in Nanjing, where he recorded only one valid attempt (17.80m), in Toruń he registered three jumps. But it was again the first one that turned out to be the winner.

This was his fourth medal at the big stage, following Olympic bronze in 2024, European indoor gold in 2025 and his world indoor title last year.

“Despite not being at my best, I am extremely glad I was able to defend my title today,” he said. “I have been very lucky to be coached by Fabrizio Donato. He welcomed me to his house, but also gave me the opportunity to have a second life. Both my mum and my girlfriend are here – I'm glad they were able to witness this too.”

Jamaica’s Jordan Scott and Algeria’s Yasser Triki tried to catch Diaz. They didn’t quite achieve their mission but ended on the podium.

Scott – whose first global championships appearance was at the 2016 World U20 Championships in the neighbouring Bydgoszcz – finally earned his first international medal with his 17.33m runner-up finish.

“I cannot say that I did not believe I could do it, but I never thought I could be so happy with this,” he stated. “Last summer, I had a great season with a lot of experience over the Diamond League events. It gave me huge confidence and understanding for how to cope with all these ups and downs.”

Like Diaz, Scott hasn’t competed much this winter either. In Toruń, he was competing for only the second time this season. That didn’t stop him from becoming the first Jamaican athlete to win a senior global medal in the men’s triple jump.

“Jamaica is raising its profile in the field events,” he said. “Being the first man from the country to win a medal in men's triple jump at World Indoors is like making a little athletics history for your country.”

Triki came to Poland with high hopes of becoming just the second African winner of the men’s triple jump at the World Indoors after Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango claimed the title in 2024. On Friday’s final, Triki jumped beyond 17 metres on five occasions, but was ultimately 17cm shy of gold.

The 28-year-old’s motto is “be the best version of you”, but this time, his consistency allowed him to reach 17.30m in the fourth round, which secured him bronze, his second world indoor medal after silver in 2024.

“To be honest, I came here for the gold,” he said. “I have been in really good shape recently, so 17.30m is not what I was hoping for, I thought I was capable of 17.60-17.70m.”

Cuba’s 2022 world indoor champion Lazaro Martinez, who jumped 17.14m, finished one place shy of the podium.

Piotrek Przyborowski for World Athletics

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