Triple jump hope fails to make length for gold

Londoner Phillips Idowu lost out on the gold in the men's triple jump today.

Sporting trademark red hair and an array of piercings, Idowu put his head in his hands after a disappointing final jump and gained silver. The 29-year-old, unbeaten this year until today, was one of Britain's brightest gold medal hopes.

His first leap took him to 17.51m which put him in the lead. He then played cat and mouse with Portugal's Nelson Evora but his longest jump at 17.62m fell short of Evora's which measured 17.67m. Idowu, from Hackney, won his first world title in March, taking the gold medal at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain. His jump of 17.75m also broke the British and Commonwealth Indoor record previously held by Jonathan Edwards.