London 2012: Phillips Idowu pull-out sends shivers through home nation
Phillips Idowu at the GB Olympians Parade of Heroes, 2008. Photo: Nick J Webb
Umbrellas populated the stands on a cold and rainy afternoon at Crystal Palace, and three weeks from the start of the athletics at the Olympic Games there were dark clouds hanging over some of Britain’s brightest medal hopes. Injury concerns and under-par performances were one theme of a day that did not go well for Phillips Idowu, Tiffany Porter, Robbie Grabarz and the men’s sprint relay team.
Of particular worry was the withdrawal of Idowu – the fourth consecutive occasion the triple jumper has pulled out of an event this season. Having already missed Oslo, the Olympic trials, Paris and now Crystal Palace, Idowu will head to the Games without having competed at all since 2 June in Eugene, Oregon, where he withdrew midway through the competition after landing awkwardly.
At Crystal Palace the Olympic silver medallist and former world champion did actually turn up to compete, but after a problem developed in the warm-up he decided to withdraw as a precautionary measure. The 33-year-old from Hackney reported a tightness in his left hip that he was unable to loosen and, fearing that competing on it would set back next week’s training schedule, he decided to play safe. Idowu tweeted: “Hey guys, sorry to have to pull out of #ALGP, slight bit of muscle tightness. I will be fine in a day or 2. Hope the other jumpers put on a great show for you. See you 7th aug. thanks for your support.”
Idowu’s agent, Ricky Simms, told UK Athletics that this was not an existing problem, but a new niggle.
The triple jump world record holder Jonathan Edwards, now a BBC pundit, backed Idowu’s decision not to compete. “When I turned up at the track this morning, I asked myself: ‘Would I have wanted to jump today?’ and the answer was ‘no’,” Edwards said. “Phillips probably didn’t fancy it, but there is nothing to worry about [with the injury]. It’s cold, damp and he doesn’t want to take any risks. We will forgive him everything if he jumps well in London.”
The weather did not deter the 21-year-old world champion, Christian Taylor, however. Idowu’s biggest threat to a gold medal at the Olympics recorded 17.41m with his final effort in pouring rain. “Sunny or rain you have to work through it,” said the American, who has a personal best of 17.96m. “Everyone is going through it. You’re going to have headwinds, you’re going to have tailwinds. It’s part of the sport. I just try to block all that out and take care of what I need to do.”
Earlier in the week Idowu had denied that he had any injury problems, adding further confusion to the already muddied communications between the athlete and UK Athletics. At the Olympic trials in June, Britain’s head coach, Charles van Commenee, had insisted that there was an injury problem, but that he was not at liberty to disclose the details on the grounds of medical confidentiality. Idowu later rubbished his claim, saying: “I’ve not mentioned anything about an injury to be honest. No one’s actually heard the words come out of my mouth, from my coach or from any of my representatives, so I’ve kind of just let that rumour mill just stir itself.”
Another concern for Britain’s medal hopes is the sprint hurdler Tiffany Porter, who was in tears after a back problem flared up during her 100m hurdles heat. The 24-year-old world indoor silver medallist faltered at the seventh hurdle and had to jog through the final stages of the race, finishing last in 14.19sec, and was too upset to speak afterwards as she clutched at her lower back.
Her friend and fellow competitor, Danielle Carruthers of the United States, confirmed that Porter had been struggling with an injury – running through the pain – for some time but had wanted to keep it under wraps.
Porter was not the only woman in her field to suffer a setback. Sally Pearson, Australia’s 100m hurdles world champion, had been expected to triumph here in London but after clattering a hurdle she endured defeat for the first time this season. Having won 31 out of 32 hurdles races since 2010, the Australian who had seemed untouchable refused to comment after she finished runner-up to the American Kellie Wells.
Another star whose trajectory faltered was Robbie Grabarz, who failed to clear 2.26m in the high jump, having had just one successful attempt at 2.22m. The 25-year-old has been in sensational form this season, claiming European gold for Britain and climbing to joint second in the world rankings. But Grabarz was frustrated with himself after finishing second.
“Shit, it was bad,” said the Cambridgeshire jumper. “I’ve trained hard for the last couple of weeks but I think because I felt I was in a training phase I’ve not hyped up my concentration. I’ve just let it get away from me. I didn’t allow myself take control of my performance and that’s what happens when you’re not concentrating.”
In the men’s 4x100m relay Britain finished a disappointing fourth, prompting Dwain Chambers to call for the teenage sprint sensation Adam Gemili to join the squad. “As a team, we pulled together,” said Chambers, whose failed baton exchange with Christian Malcolm led to Britain being disqualified at the European championships in Helsinki last month. “Some people performed well, some people didn’t,” he said.
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