IDOWU, A PHENOMENALLY TALENTED BUT APPARENTLY ALSO A BIT SCATTERED, WINS THE WORLD INDOOR AND BREAKS JON EDWARDS’ BRITISH INDOOR RECORD, THEN SWITCHES COACHES FOUR MONTHS OUT FROM THE OLYMPICS. WONDER HOW THIS WILL PAN OUT. FEEL VERY SORRY FOR COACH JOHN HERBERT WHO IS A REALLY CARING, INTELLIGENT AND DECENT GUY. DON’T KNOW ASTON AS WELL, BUT HE SEEMS LIKE A GREAT GUY TOO. BEST WISHES TO HIM THEN. kk
Page last updated at 13:49 GMT, Wednesday, 16 April 2008 14:49 UK
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Idowu opts to work with new coach
Idowu is hoping to add Olympic gold to his world indoor title
World indoor triple jump champion Phillips Idowu has opted to make a change to his coaching setup, just months before the Beijing Olympics.
The 29-year-old Belgrave Harrier has left John Herbert who he has been working with for 10 years.
He will now work with the UK Athletics’s senior performance manager for field events, Aston Moore.
“I want to try new things and now is the right time to make a change as I develop and move forward,” said Idowu.
“I have worked with John for the past 10 years and I want to thank him for all he’s done for me.”
UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins said: "It’s always a difficult decision for an athlete to change coach.
“John Herbert has been instrumental in developing Phillips to be a genuinely world class competitor and I am sure any success Phillips enjoys in Beijing will be due in no small part to John.”
RECENT HISTORY:
Phillips Idowu won gold for Great Britain on the final day of the World Indoor Championships in Valencia.
The Londoner set a new British record on his way to triple jump success, his second-round leap of 17.75m beating the mark of Jonathan Edwards by 11cm.
The 29-year-old’s jump was also the fifth longest in indoor history.
Idowu’s gold adds to the four silver medals won by controversial sprinter Dwain Chambers, Kelly Sotherton, Jeanette Kwakye and Chris Tomlinson.
Highlights: Idowu wins triple-jump gold
The haul ensured Britain finished fourth in the medals table.
As soon as I picked up that medal, my head was right now on the Olympics
Phillips Idowu
Idowu, who was just eight cm short of the world record, immediately turned his attention to August’s Olympic Games in Beijing following his win in Spain.
“It’s nice to have the gold medal to take home but there’s still a long way to the Olympics,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"It was a good jump, it was enough for gold here, but there’s going to be more people in Beijing hunting for the same medal, so I’ve got to up my game.
“As soon as I picked up that medal, my head was right now on the Olympics.”