# Françoise Mbango Etone

Françoise Mbango Etone (born 14 April 1976 in Yaoundé) is a Cameroonian-born female former track and field athlete. She has competed internationally for France since 2010. While competing for Cameroon, Etone was a 2-time Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She held the Olympic record for triple jump which she set with a distance of 15.39 m at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The 15.39 m is the third longest women's triple jump in history under any conditions. Only 25 women have ever jumped 15 metres, Etone jumped beyond 15 metres on 7 of her last 11 attempts in the Olympic final alone.
Etone was also a talented long jumper who finished second at the African Championships in 1999. Etone was the first female athlete representing Cameroon to win medals at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Olympic Games. She has been a scholarship holder with the Olympic Solidarity program since November 2002.
During the 2005–06 academic year, she lived in New York City on a scholarship to attend St. John's University in Queens, New York. The scholarship was made possible through the collaboration of the American electricity company AES Sonel along with US Ambassador to Cameroon, Niels Marquardt. She selected St. John's University for study (along with her younger sister, Berthe) because of the school's support of cultural programs in Cameroon.

## Competition record

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| Representing Cameroon ||||||
| 1996 | African Championships | Yaoundé, Cameroon | 3rd | Triple jump | 12.51 m |
| 1998 | African Championships | Dakar, Senegal | 2nd | Triple jump | 13.80 m |
| 1998 | Commonwealth Games | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 10th | Long jump | 6.11 m |
| 1998 | Commonwealth Games | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2nd | Triple jump | 13.95 m |
| 1999 | World Championships | Seville, Spain | 13th (q) | Triple jump | 14.12 m |
| 1999 | All-Africa Games | Johannesburg, South Africa | 2nd | Long jump | 6.55 m |
| 1999 | All-Africa Games | Johannesburg, South Africa | 1st | Triple jump | 14.70 m |
| 2000 | African Championships | Algiers, Algeria | 3rd | 4 × 100 m relay | 46.97 |
| 2000 | African Championships | Algiers, Algeria | 1st | Triple jump | 13.87 m |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 24th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 45.82 |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 10th | Triple jump | 13.53 m |
| 2001 | Jeux de la Francophonie | Ottawa, Canada | 2nd | Long jump | 6.37 m |
| 2001 | Jeux de la Francophonie | Ottawa, Canada | 2nd | Triple jump | 14.56 m |
| 2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 2nd | Triple jump | 14.60 m |
| 2002 | Commonwealth Games | Manchester, United Kingdom | 2nd | Triple jump | 14.82 m |
| 2002 | African Championships | Radès, Tunisia | 1st | Long jump | 6.68 m (w) |
| 2002 | African Championships | Radès, Tunisia | 1st | Triple jump | 14.95 m |
| 2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 2nd | Triple jump | 14.88 m |
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 2nd | Triple jump | 15.05 m |
| 2004 | World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 6th | Triple jump | 14.62 m |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 1st | Triple jump | 15.30 m |
| 2008 | African Championships | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 1st | Triple jump | 14.76 m |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 1st | Triple jump | 15.39 m |
| Representing France ||||||
| 2012 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 8th | Triple jump | 14.19 m |