Phillips Idowu's Biography

Phillips Idowu was born on 30 Dec 1978.

Phillips Idowu is a Londoner, who has won the Commonwealth Games triple jump as well as the World and European Indoor triple jumps.

In the July 2008 trials, Phillips Idowu jumped 17.58 metres, the furthest in the world in 2008 at the time.

Idowu was a strong basketball and American football player at school, but decided to focus on the triple jump.

By 2000, Idowu was ranked in the top ten triple jumpers in the world, and he came 6th in the Sydney Olympics.

For Phillips Idowu, 2003 was dogged by injury and 2004 was marred by producing three no jumps in the Athens Olympics.

2006 saw Phillips Idowu win gold at the Commonwealth Games, and a fifth place at the 2006 European Championships.

2007 saw more injury problems for Phillips Idowu. Scans on his back showed numerous stress fractures.

Idowu puts down some of his improvement in 2008 to gaining coaching from Aston Moore, performance manager for UK Athletics.

Phillips Idowu won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics.

On 18 August 2009, Phillips Idowu won gold at the World Athletics Championships, with a new personal best triple jump of 17.73 metres.

Idowu has facial studs and pins and has red hair.

In October 2009, Phillips Idowu was voted men's European Athlete of the Year.

In July 2010, Phillips Idowu won a gold medal at the European Championships.

In September 2011, Phillips Idowu won a silver medal at the World Championships.

The 2012 Olympics did not go well for Idowu. After dealing with an injury for some time, he failed to reach the finals of the triple jump.