Hackney’s Idowu defends decision not to compete in Birmingham
Defending World Champion ‘knew his body was not completely right’
Hackney athlete Philips Idowu has defended his decision not to compete at the National Championships in Birmingham last weekend.
The defending triple jump world champion claimed he needed to rest as the countdown to next month’s World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, gathers momentum.
“I’ve had tough couple of weeks and started a bit of a downward spiral,” said Idowu.
“I didn’t think it was respectful to come here and just do one jump or put in a performance which was below par because people pay their money to watch the best British athletes compete at their best and I’m not at my best right now.
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“You know when your body is not completely right. I jumped last year with an illness and barely got over 17m.
“I don’t think it’s worth people paying their money to come and see me do a jump like that.
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“I think people will prefer me to go out and jump well in Korea than to come here and jump poorly.
“I’d rather come out in a tracksuit for once and meet the people, sign autographs and stuff like that.”
“It’s all about Daegu for me and my only focus is defending that world title.
“I need to stamp my authority on the event and then go into London as the world champion.”
