Coming into the European Athletics Championships much of the focus in the triple jump was on rising French star, Teddy Tamgho. The young jumper had already broken the indoor world record this year with a leap of 17.98 metres and has vowed to break the outstanding outdoor record of 18.29 meters set by Jonathan Edwards in 1995. It certainly looked as though Tamgho would be a strong contender for the title, but he was unable to get past the masterful, and colourful, Phillips Idowu.
The current world champion had suffered some injury troubles early in the season but in true British fashion he battled through and put on a clinic in triple jumping. Having produced some promising early jumps he sailed into an unassailable lead in the fourth round, reaching a personal best distance of 17.81 metres. The jump put him firmly in the driving seat in the competition and with Tamgho unable to better the jump in the fifth round, Idowu declined to take his final jump and set off on an emotional lap around the track as the new European Athletics Champion. At the age of 31, Idowu is jumping better than ever and if he can stay injury free over the next two years he will be a strong contender to complete his championship honours with an Olympic gold. |
