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Phillips Idowu

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Phillips Olaosebikan Idowu, MBE (born 30 December 1978) is a British athlete who specialised in the triple jump and was active at elite level between 2000 and 2014. He is a former World Outdoor and Indoor, European Outdoor and Indoor, and Commonwealth triple jump champion. He was also a silver medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Idowu is a member of the London-based Belgrave Harriers athletics club and has been for much of his career.

Phillips Idowu
MBE
Phillips Idowu at the 2009 World Championships.
Personal information
Born (1978-12-30) 30 December 1978 (age 45)
London, England[1]
Height1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight87 kg (192 lb)
Sport
Country Great Britain
SportAthletics
EventTriple jump
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Triple jump
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Berlin Triple jump
Silver medal – second place 2011 Daegu Triple jump
Diamond League
Winner 2011 Triple jump
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Barcelona Triple jump
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Valencia Triple jump
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Birmingham Triple jump
Continental Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Split Triple jump
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne Triple jump
Silver medal – second place 2002 Manchester Triple jump
Updated on 15 August 2012

Despite his successes, Idowu has been at times accused of inconsistency and of failing to fulfil his potential,[2] including his disappointing failure at the London Olympics 2012.[3] His championship record since 2008, especially his gold medal at the 2009 World Athletics Championships, addressed some of these criticisms; the Olympic Games is the only major championship to have eluded him, with a silver medal in 2008.[4]

Career

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Idowu grew up in Hackney,[5] and was a talented sportsman at school in both basketball and American football, yet he was most successful as a junior in athletics. In 1997 he came to attention as a triple jumper when he won the English Schools Championships and the under-20s AAA title, rounding off the year by coming fourth in the European Junior Championships.[6]

Idowu's success continued in 2000, when he was ranked in the top 10 triple jumpers in the world and placed sixth in the 2000 Olympic Games. In 2001 he won the European Cup, though later that year his form was found wanting at the World Championships in Edmonton. His first major international medal came when he won silver at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, setting a new personal best of 17.68 metres but losing to world record holder and compatriot Jonathan Edwards. Later in 2002 he placed 5th in the European Championships.[7]

In 2012, Idowu defeated world champion Christian Taylor at a Diamond League meeting in Shanghai.[8]

Injury

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A knee injury that required surgery ruled Idowu out of the whole 2003 season. His aim was to return to form in 2004 to compete at the Olympic Games in Athens.[9]

Championship success

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In March 2006, Idowu triumphed at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, winning gold. However, he failed to maintain this form and once again finished in 5th place at the European Championships later that year.

In 2007, in the absence of world leader Christian Olsson, Idowu beat compatriot Nathan Douglas to gold in the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham. He recorded a championship record jump of 17.56 m, beating Olsson's world-leading jump by 12 cm.[10] Idowu went on to win the IAAF Golden League Bislett Games in June 2007 with a distance of 17.35 m. By July 2007 he was ranked the number three triple jumper in the world, a new career high.

On 9 March 2008, Idowu won his first world title, taking the gold medal at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain. His jump of 17.75 m also broke the British and Commonwealth Indoor record previously held by his compatriot and former adversary Jonathan Edwards, who presented him with his medal at the ceremony. Despite his successes at the Indoor Championships and Commonwealth Games, Idowu decided to change coach, switching from John Herbert to 1982 Commonwealth Games medalist Aston Moore. Reflecting on his choice, Idowu stated: "now is the right time to make a change as I develop and move forward".[11]

 
Idowu on the way to his first World Championships title in 2009 with a broken arm

Idowu won the men's triple jump title at the 2008 British Olympic Trials with a distance of 17.58 m, at the time the longest outdoor jump of 2008. He followed this up with further jumps of 17.57 m and 17.27 m.[12][13]

Idowu took silver in the men's triple jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics behind World Champion Nelson Évora after arriving at the games as the favourite. His best jump was 17.62 m, achieved in the third round. In an interview with Reuters, Idowu expressed disappointment at having won only silver, though he displayed good humour and also looked forward to the next Olympics in London.[14]

Idowu missed the start of the 2009 athletics season due to a knee injury.[15] On Tuesday 18 August 2009 he won the World Championships in Berlin with the longest jump of anyone so far this year and an outdoors personal best distance of 17.73 m, again having his medal presented by Jonathan Edwards.[16] In July 2010 he broke his triple jump personal best jumping 17.81 metres at the Barcelona European Athletics Championships to win gold.[17]

Idowu was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours "for services to athletics".[18][19]

2012 Summer Olympics

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Idowu was battling for fitness coming into the 2012 Summer Olympics in his native London, and had not jumped competitively for nearly three months. Idowu struggled and could not make it past the qualifying round of the triple jump, ending his hopes of a medal.[20][21]

2013–14

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After receiving leg surgery in autumn 2012, Idowu continued to struggle with fitness and form during 2013. In July 2013 he announced that he was "taking a step back" from the sport "for the foreseeable future", a step that some interpreted as tantamount to retirement.[22] However, Idowu returned to top-level international competition at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting in May 2014, after a spell of training and competition in Australia.[23]

Aged 36 in 2014, Idowu has not competed internationally since that season.

Personal life

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Idowu was educated at Brunel University London, where he studied sports sciences.[24]

Idowu is known to the public for his eccentric personality, sporting a variety of hair colours, an array of facial piercings and trademark booming laugh. Other than triple jump, Idowu also enjoys basketball.[25] He has a daughter, D'Karma (born 2007), and a son, Prince (born 2010).[26] Both his parents are Nigerian.[27]

In 2013, Idowu joined Jack Dee, Dara Ó Briain, Greg James, Melanie C and Chelsee Healey in Through Hell and High Water, a Comic Relief challenge which involved British celebrities canoeing the most difficult rapids of the Zambezi River. They raised over £1 million for the charity. He also appeared in the 2013 edition of Celebrity MasterChef, being eliminated in the second round.

In 2013 Idowu was banned from driving for two years and ordered to complete 50 hours community service after being caught drink driving by police.[28]

Personal bests

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Event Best Location Date
Triple jump 17.81 m Barcelona, Spain 29 July 2010
Triple jump (indoor) 17.75 m Valencia, Spain 9 March 2008
Long jump 7.83 m Ljubljana, Slovenia 25 July 2000
60 metres 6.81 s Carshalton, London, England 31 January 2004
100 metres 10.60 s Ballarat, Australia 25 February 2006

International competitions

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Panorama of Phillips Idowu in 2008 Olympic Games
Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing   Great Britain and   England
1999 European U23 Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 5th 16.39 m (wind: +0.6 m/s)
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 6th 17.08 m
2001 IAAF World Championships Edmonton, Canada 9th 16.60 m
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, UK 2nd 17.68 m
European Championships Munich, Germany 5th 16.92 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 12th No Mark
2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia 1st 17.45 m
European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 5th 17.02 m
2007 European Indoor Championships Birmingham, UK 1st 17.56 m
IAAF World Championships Osaka, Japan 6th 17.09 m
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 1st 17.75 m
Olympic Games Beijing, China 2nd 17.62 m
2009 IAAF World Championships Berlin, Germany 1st 17.73 m
2010 European Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st 17.81 m
2011 IAAF World Championships Daegu, South Korea 2nd 17.77 m

References

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  1. ^ "Olympedia – Phillips Idowu". Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  2. ^ Broadbent, Rick (14 January 2008). "Plenty of green shoots but few hints of blossoming superstars". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  3. ^ Taylor, Jerome (7 August 2012). "Independent". London. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Phillips Idowu". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Phillips Idowu: 'Hackney made me who I am and I hope to inspire people". Evening Standard. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  6. ^ "British Olympic Association > Athletes > Phillips Idowu". Olympics.org.uk. 30 December 1978. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  7. ^ Phillips Idowu at World Athletics  
  8. ^ "Idowu". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  9. ^ Holt, Sarah (6 June 2005). "BBC SPORT | Athletics | Idowu eyes gold". BBC News. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  10. ^ "Idowu takes gold in triple jump". BBC Sport. 3 March 2007.
  11. ^ "Idowu and Herbert Part Ways". Athletics Weekly. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  12. ^ "Idowu takes title with world's best". BBC Sport. 13 July 2008.
  13. ^ Phillips, Michael (14 July 2008). "Idowu targets world record after taking giant stride to glory". London: Guardian online.
  14. ^ "'There ain't no better athlete than me.' | Olympics". Uk.reuters.com. 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  15. ^ "Idowu starts season with victory". 1 June 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2020 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  16. ^ "Idowu wins Britain's second gold". BBC Sport. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  17. ^ "Phillips Idowu wins European Athletics triple jump gold". BBC Sport. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  18. ^ "No. 59808". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2011. p. 17.
  19. ^ "2011 Queen's Birthday Honours List" (PDF). BBC. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  20. ^ "ESPN". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  21. ^ "BBC". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  22. ^ Triple jumper Phillips Idowu's break will be permanent, claims former world champion Jonathan Edwards, The Telegraph, 11 July 2013
  23. ^ "Nine reigning world champions look to shine in Shanghai – 2014 IAAF Diamond League| News". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  24. ^ "Brunel athletes head for Melbourne". Brunel University London. 3 February 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  25. ^ McRae, Donald (24 June 2008). "'I took control and now I feel unbeatable'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  26. ^ Donald Mcrae Interviews Phillips Idowu"
  27. ^ "Phillips Idowu - Olympics30.com". www.olympics30.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012.
  28. ^ Simon, Hart (7 October 2013). "Mr". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 October 2013.

Further reading

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