Athletics - Phillips Idowu wins silver in men's triple jump

PHILLIPS IDOWU finally wrapped his fingers around an Olympic medal when he took silver in the triple jump.

It was nearly gold, just five centimetres separating him from champion Nelson Evora from Portugal.

But it would be harsh to label Idowu the nearly man this time after a compelling triple jump competition which ebbed and flowed with each round.

True, a precocious Idowu had come a disappointing sixth in Sydney when Britain's Jonathan Edwards took gold.

He blew it in Athens, nerves getting the better of him as he put in three foul jumps and missed out on the final.

And Britain had such high hopes this time, especially after Idowu had taken the world indoor title in March, breaking Edwards' UK and Commonwealth record on the way.

Idowu, however, was beaten by an athlete in Evora who confirmed his world champion status just when he needed to do so most.

There is no disgrace in that and Idowu can be proud of his first series of jumps, his distinctive long white socks and white headband speeding down the runway to record consistent leaps of 17.51, 17.31 and 17.62.
At the half-way stage he led and it seemed as if British athletics was to supply another golden hero to join such as the cyclists, sailors, rowers. But half-way is no time to get ahead of yourself in Olympic competition.

So it proved with Evora pulling out 17.67m on his next jump and challenging Idowu to produce a personal best to beat him.
Could Idowu respond? Could he keep his nerve? Could he find from somewhere the leap of his life.

The answer came with his next jump. A red flag. A foul jump. Half a foot too long on the take-off board. Those pressure demons again? It looked that way.

The greats respond to the toughest challenges. Edwards in his pomp would have found the inspiration. Idowu could not.

No shame. He tried, but his next jump was a disappointing 17.26 and his last saw his aerodynamics in the most technical of disciplines go haywire half way through, only for him to land on one foot and way short of his target.

The gold was Evora's, the bronze went to Leevan Sands of the Bahamas and Idowu collected his silver. So nearly so much better.

1. Nelson Evora (Portugal) 17.67 m
2. Phillips Idowu (Britain) 17.62 m
3. Leevan Sands (Bahamas) 17.59 m
4. David Arnie Giralt (Cuba) 17.52 m
5. Marian Oprea (Romania) 17.22 m
6. Jadel Gregorio (Brazil) 17.20 m
7. Onochie Achike (Britain) 17.17 m
8. Viktor Kuznyetsov (Ukraine) 16.87 m
9. Igor Spasovkhodskiy (Russia) 16.79 m
10. Li Yanxi (China) 16.77 m
11. Momchil Karailiev (Bulgaria) 16.48 m
12. Hector Fuentes (Cuba) 16.28 m