Phillips Idowu

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, 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 the 2008 Summer Olympics. Idowu is a member of the London-based Belgrave Harriers athletics club and has been for much of his career.

Despite his successes, Idowu had suffered by comparisons with his senior compatriot Jonathan Edwards, and had been at times accused of inconsistency and of failing to fulfil his potential, including his disappointing injury-affected failure at the London Olympics 2012. His championship record since 2007, especially his gold medal at the 2009 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.

Idowu grew up in Hackney, 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.

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.

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

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.

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. 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.