Phillips Idowu of England won the triple jump gold medal at the World Indoor Championships. ValenciaToday in 2008.
The 29-year-old Londoner chose the perfect moment to put together his most impressive jump streak in the competition to take the top of the podium.
Sport Idowu, a designer red hairstyle, opened with a jump of 17.10m, followed by a second to 17.75m, breaking Jonathan Edwards’ British 10-year record in the process and coming within eight centimeters of the world indoor record at the time.
He matched his previous personal record of 17.56m in lap three and jumped 17.45m in the next lap before sitting down in lap five and fouling on his last try.
By this point, however, he had done enough to dodge the challenge of former world junior champion David Giralt and previous year’s world outdoor gold medalist Nelson Evora.
Renowned for his inconsistency, given his medal by former world and Olympic champion Edwards, Idowu quickly ignored suggestions that his success had made him a favorite for the Olympic title. Beijing later that year.
He said at the time: “Obviously this sets me up very well as we head into the outdoor season.
“I think there are a few people who didn’t come to these championships and should be considered for the Olympics as well.
“I like to be in the background until absolutely necessary.”
At the event, Portugal’s Evora got her revenge by jumping 17.67m in Beijing for gold, and Idowu had to settle for silver with 17.62m.