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Age: 32 (born 30/12/1978)
Club: Belgrave Harriers
Coach: Aston Moore
Website: Phillips Idowu
Event: Triple Jump
Career Highlights:
Phillips Idowu is the current leader of the Diamond League triple jump rankings and second only to Johnathan Edwards in the all time British rankings for the event.
The Hackney-born athlete, who's also known for his piercings, changing hair colour and love of fashion started his Olympic journey in 2000, with a qualifying time of 17.12 and a final time of 17.08 and sixth place.
Two years later he was challenged by British rival, Edwards at the Commonwealth Games, where he had to settle for silver with a great jump of 17.68m. Still chasing Gold, chances looked good for Idowu at the European Championships, with 17.54m but he finished a disappointing fifth in the final.
Another fifth followed in 2006 at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne with a leap of 17.45m; and another at the European Championships in Gothenburg where he reached a distance of 17.02m.
2007 saw a jump up the placings. At the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham, he had battled it out with team-mate and rival Nathan Douglas and in a high quality competition, Idowu came out on top with a world-leading 17.56m. He followed up with a win at Oslo before an injury wrecked his gold medal chances at the World Championships, where he finished sixth.
In 2008 medals were won. At the IAAF World Championships he got gold and he at his third Olympics in Beijing he was rewarded with a silver medal. A second world title was gained in Berlin in 2009.
More Gold followed in 2010 when Idowu won the Barcelona European Athletics Championships, and achieved a life-time best of 17.81m.
In 2011 he's had seven wins, and At the World Championships in Deagu in July, Idowu looked on course to retain the crown he picked up in 2009, but was pipped by American Christian Taylor's enormous third round jump of 17.9m, despite a superb leap of 17.77m.
Quirky facts
Idowu was born and bred in Hackney and spent some time in foster care, but despite a tough start he not only excelled at triple jump but was a pretty good basketball and American football player too.
The Running Bug's prediction for Phillips Idowu in the London Olympics 2012: