Dwight Phillips (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
(BEIJING, June 30) – Former Olympic champion Dwight Phillips took eighth place in the Men’s Long Jump with a result of 7.93 meters in the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon. This rules him out of competing in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics in August.
Phillips, who won Olympic gold in the 2004 Athens Games, set his personal best at 8.60 meters in Germany that same year. Although Phillips has had much competition experience, his performance has been declining in the past few years. The 31-year-old may be reaching the age wall that caused him to lose his competitive edge for participation in this year’s Games.
Instead of Phillips, Miguel Pate, Brian Johnson and Trevell Quinley will compete for the US National Team at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Pate, who ranked No. 3 in 2007 on USA Track and Field records, finished with a jump of 8.24 meters at the trials. He sympathized with Phillips, saying “I feel bad for him. He’s become, I wouldn’t say a friend, but we’ve been close over the years. To see him not make the team, I’m not going to say it hurts, but I’d prefer he’d be on the team.”
Johnson, with a jump measuring 8.09 meters, secured the second berth.
Quinley’s 8.00 meter jump gave him America’s last ticket to the Olympic Games in the long jump. “It definitely took some pressure off, but I put pressure on myself, and whether I’m predicted first or eighth, I expect to be on this team,” he said.
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)