.jpg) Phillips Idowu at the 2009 World Championships. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Born | (1978-12-30)30 December 1978 (age 47) London, England[1] |
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Triple jump |
| Club | Belgrave Harriers |
Medal record | |
| Updated on 15 August 2012 | |
Phillips Olaosebikan Idowu,MBE (born 30 December 1978) is a British athlete who specialised in thetriple jump and was active at elite level between 2000 and 2014, with his greatest success coming between 2006 and 2011. He is a former World Outdoor (2009) and Indoor (2008), European Outdoor (2010) and Indoor (2007), Diamond League (2011) and Commonwealth Games (2006) triple jump champion. He was also a silver medalist at the2008 Summer Olympics. Idowu is a member of the London-basedBelgrave Harriers athletics club and has been for much of his career.
Despite his successes, Idowu had suffered by comparisons with his senior compatriotJonathan Edwards, and had been at times accused of inconsistency and of failing to fulfil his potential,[2] including his disappointing injury-affected failure at theLondon Olympics 2012.[3] His championship record since 2007, especially his gold medal at the2009 World Athletics Championships, addressed some of these criticisms; by the end of his elite career, the Olympic Games was the only major championship gold to have eluded him, with a silver medal his best return in 2008.[4]
Idowu grew up inHackney,[5] and was a talented sportsman at school in both basketball andAmerican football, yet he was most successful as a junior in athletics. In 1997 he came to attention as a triple jumper when he won theEnglish Schools Championships and the under-20sAAA title, rounding off the year by coming fourth in theEuropean Junior Championships.[6]
Idowu's success continued in 2000, when he was ranked in the top 10triple jumpers in the world and placed sixth in the2000 Olympic Games. In 2001 he won theEuropean Cup, though later that year his form was found wanting at theWorld Championships in Edmonton. His first major international medal came when he won silver at the2002 Commonwealth Games, setting a new personal best of 17.68 metres but losing to world record holder and compatriotJonathan Edwards. Later in 2002 he placed 5th in theEuropean Championships.[7]
In 2012, Idowu defeated world champion Christian Taylor at aDiamond League meeting in Shanghai.[8]
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 theOlympic Games in Athens.[9]
In March 2006, Idowu triumphed at theCommonwealth Games inMelbourne, winning gold. However, he failed to maintain this form and once again finished in 5th place at theEuropean Championships later that year.
In 2007, in the absence of world leaderChristian Olsson, Idowu beat compatriotNathan Douglas to gold in theEuropean 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 theIAAF 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 the2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships inValencia, Spain. His jump of 17.75 m also broke the British andCommonwealth 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 fromJohn Herbert to1982 Commonwealth Games medalistAston Moore. Reflecting on his choice, Idowu stated: "now is the right time to make a change as I develop and move forward".[11]
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 themen's triple jump at the2008 Beijing Olympics behind World ChampionNelson 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 theWorld 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 BarcelonaEuropean Athletics Championships to win gold.[17]
Idowu was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2011Queen's Birthday Honours "for services to athletics".[18][19]
Idowu was battling for fitness coming into the2012 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]
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.
Idowu was educated atBrunel 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 joinedJack Dee,Dara Ó Briain,Greg James,Melanie C andChelsee Healey inThrough Hell and High Water, aComic Relief challenge which involved British celebrities canoeing the most difficult rapids of theZambezi River. They raised over £1 million for the charity. He also appeared in the 2013 edition ofCelebrity 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 caughtdrink driving by police.[28]
| 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 |
| 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 | |
|
European Athletics Championships champions in men'striple jump | |
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