Dwight Phillips

Dwight Phillips
Personal information
Nationality American
Born (1977-10-01) October 1, 1977
Decatur, Georgia
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg)
Sport
Country  United States
Sport Track and field

Dwight Phillips (born October 1, 1977) is an American former athlete and a four-time world champion in the long jump. He was the 2004 Olympic champion in the event. His personal best of 8.74 meters, set in 2009, makes him the joint fifth best jumper of all time.[1]

Phillips has also competed in the 60 and 100-meter dashes. His personal record for the 100 m is 10.06 seconds and his time of 6.47 seconds over 60 m ranks among the top twenty fastest ever.[2]

Career

Phillips was a promising sprinter in his early days, but concentrated on the triple jump while at University of Kentucky, before switching to the long jump after moving to Arizona State University in 2000. He competed at 2000 Sydney Olympics and finished eighth in the long jump with a jump of 8.06 m. He was the best American performer in the event. At his first World Championships he again finished eighth, after sustaining a hamstring tear.

He came to prominence in 2003, when he won both the IAAF indoor and outdoor World Championships. The indoor championship event was a close contest, with Phillips only beating Spain's Yago Lamela by a centimeter. He won the outdoor title with a winning margin of four centimeters over James Beckford of Jamaica.[3][4]

In the run up to the 2004 Athens Olympics, Phillips was ranked number one in the world, and he won the gold medal by a margin of 12 cm over his compatriot John Moffitt. His winning jump of 8.59 meters was the fourth biggest in Olympic history, after Bob Beamon (1968) and Carl Lewis (1988, 1992).[5][6]

His success continued at the next two World Championships. Taking the gold medal at the 2005 Helsinki event, and winning bronze in Osaka two years later.[7][8]

Phillips finished fourth in the long jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials, meaning he would not compete at the Beijing Olympics and would not defend his Olympic title.

On June 7, 2009, Phillips won the long jump at the Prefontaine Classic with a personal-best third jump of 8.74 m, defeating 2008 Olympic gold medalist Irving Saladino.[9] A jump that put Phillips in the all-time performers top 10, despite a 1.2 metres/second headwind. He won the US Championships later that month, giving him another chance to reach the podium at the World Championships.[10]

At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, in Berlin, Phillips won the gold in the long jump with a jump of 8.54 m.[11] He repeated the feat in Daegu in 2011 with a leap of 8.45 m. During the championships in Daegu, Phillips was assigned the bib number 1111. After winning, Phillips proudly pointed to the number appropriate for finishing first in four championships.[12]

A car accident just before the start of the 2012 outdoor season left him with back and neck injuries.[13] Further to this, an Achilles tendon injury recurred and instead of preparing for the 2012 London Olympics, Phillips opted to undergo surgery to prolong his career.[14]

At the 2013 World Athletics Championships, in Moscow, Phillips placed 11th in the long jump with a jump of 7.88 m and announced this was his last competition and retirement.[15][16]

Personal life

Phillips is currently CEO and partner at Quick Time Cinema.
Phillips is also the founder of Leap Of Faith Community Outreach.[17] His partner is his younger brother Demario Phillips. His long time girlfriend is fellow Olympian Hazel Clark who is the daughter of famed educator Joe Clark.

Achievements

Personal bests

Event Best Venue Date
Long jump 8.74 m Eugene, Oregon, United States June 7, 2009
Long jump (indoor) 8.29 m Birmingham, United Kingdom March 15, 2003
Triple jump 16.41 m Boise, Idaho, United States June 5, 1999
50 meters 5.70 s Liévin, France February 26, 2005
60 meters 6.47 s Madrid, Spain February 24, 2005
100 meters 10.06 s Athens, Georgia, United States May 9, 2009
200 meters 20.68 s Tempe, Arizona, United States March 30, 2002

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing the  United States
2000 Olympic Games Sydney 8th
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 8th
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, England 1st 8.29 m
World Championships Paris, France 1st 8.32 m
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 1st
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 1st 8.59 m
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 2nd 8.26 m
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 1st 8.60 m
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 1st
2006 World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 6th
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 3rd 8.30 m
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 1st 8.54 m
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 1st 8.45 m
2013 World Championships Moscow, Russia 11th 7.88 m

References

  1. Long Jump All Time. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
  2. 60 Metres All Time. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
  3. "Dwight Phillips takes World Long Jump title back to the States". IAAF. March 15, 2003. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  4. Lionel Cironneau (August 29, 2003). "Capel, Phillips take gold at World Championships". USATODAY. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  5. Olympic Games Medallists – Athletics (Men) – GBR Athletics
  6. Tom Weir (August 26, 2004). "Phillips, Moffitt leap to gold and silver". USATODAY. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  7. "Fabulous Phillips triumphs again". JamaicaObserver. August 14, 2005. Archived from the original on August 29, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  8. "Phillips Claims Bronze in Long Jump at IAAF World Championships". August 30, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  9. Kirby Lee (June 8, 2009). "Phillips sails 8.74m in Eugene for best Long Jump in world since 1991 – IAAF World Athletics Tour". IAAF. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
  10. Morse, Parker (2009-06-28). World season leads for Demus and Merritt as team takes shape in Eugene – USA Champs, Day 3. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-30.
  11. RAF CASERT (August 22, 2009). "Phillips wins men's long jump at worlds". The Associated Press. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  12. http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/documents/pdf/4147/AT-LJ-M-f--A--.RS1.pdf
  13. Car accident setback isn’t dampening Phillips’ enthusiasm for upcoming US Olympic trials - IAAF Online Diaries. IAAF (2012-05-02). Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
  14. 2004 Olympic Long Jump champion Phillips to miss London Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
  15. http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/14th-iaaf-world-championships-4873/results/men/long-jump/final/series
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJmcJExpYsw
  17. Leap Of Faith Community Outreach


Sporting positions
Preceded by
Spain Yago Lamela
Men's long jump best year performance
2004–2005
Succeeded by
Panama Irving Saladino
Preceded by
Panama Irving Saladino
Men's long jump best year performance
2009
Succeeded by
Incumbent


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