Olympic champion Dwight Phillips didn’t waste his time
There was disappointment for Britain in the men's long jump final this evening, after Chris Tomlinson could only manage fifth place.
The event was won by Dwight Phillips of the US, from fellow American John Moffitt and Spaniard Joan Lino Martinez.
Earlier, things had looked good for the 22-year-old from Middlesbrough. Last of the 12 finalists to jump, he recorded 8.25m in the opening round - just two centimetres short of his British record and his second longest jump ever. That put him in the silver medal position behind Phillips, who had already posted the winning distance of 8.59m.
However, by the end of the second round, the Briton was already down to fourth, and knew that he would have to break his own British record if he was to get back into the medals, informs Guardian.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Dwight Phillips led a 1-2 U.S. finish in the men's long jump Thursday, jumping 28 feet, 2 inches on his first try to win the gold medal. NCAA champ John Moffitt was second with a personal best of 27-91/2.
Joan Lino Martinez of Spain took the bronze with a jump of 27-3}.
Phillips' mark was a half-inch shy of his personal best, set earlier this season. He has the top six marks in the world this year.
Phillips was trying to atone for a disappointing finish four years ago in Sydney, when he finished eighth as the United States failed to win a medal for the first time since the boycotted Moscow Olympics in 1980.
He didn't waste any time. Wearing gold-colored shoes, he made his winning leap on the first try, and then fouled on his next two attempts.
Returning to the runway for the last jump of the competition, he managed to go out to 8.35m despite knowing that he had added the Olympic gold medal to the world championship title he won last summer.
Jamaica's James Beckford, the Atlanta Olympics silver medallist, failed to make the podium by just one centimetre with an effort of 8.31m.
Cuba's defending Olympic champion Ivan Pedroso finished seventh with a season's best of 8.23m, showing that he was still a jumper to be reckoned with after two years of injuries.
No Australian athletes contested the final, reports ABC News.
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