Posted: August 14, 2004

Athletics: Olympic Q&A: Dwight Phillips

2003 world indoor and outdoor long jump champion Dwight Phillips (26, Tempe, Ariz.) is on the i sl and of Crete for Team USA training camp as he prepares to compete at the Olympic Games. The 2004 Olympic Trials champion on August 2 posted a big personal best of 8.60 meters/28-2.75, which puts him 10 inches ahead of the world's next-best jumper, Hussein Taher Al-Sabee of Saudi Arabia (8.35m/27-4.74), entering the Games. Phillips recently spoke to the media. Below are excerpts of the conversation. For a full bio of Phillips and all Team USA track & field athletes, visit USATF.org.

Q: How confident do you feel about the Olympics?

A: I feel very confident and excited about having the opportunity to represent the greatest country in the world.

Q: Is competing in the Olympic Games, and the potential for winning, different than when you won the 2003 world outdoor title?

A: There is a difference, obviously. It can't get much better than the Olympic Games. In the same breath, I don't feel much pressure. I have the same approach. I think I'm the guy to beat. I've shown throughout the year that I'm consistent, and I'm competing at a very high level right now. I'm going in very confident and very excited about the possibility of winning the gold medal.

Q: How far can you jump?

A: I really don't set any limits for myself, but I would love to see myself jump very far and have "WR" flash across the screen. It's definitely not a fantasy anymore. My coach has drilled into my mind that I'm capable of reaching the record. I usually don't believe it, but now I really believe it.

Q: Is there a point where it all clicked together for you?

A: I think last year when I won the world indoor championships, that put a great deal of confidence in me. I knew how to win. When you know how to win, it's hard to count an individual out.

Q: Tell us about breaking both your legs below the knee at age 14, in your hometown of Decatur, Ga.

A: When I was a kid, I was fooling around, playing football in the middle of my street with some of my friends. I can't recollect how it went, but a motorcycle it me. It happened to be one of my brother's good friends [driving the motorcycle]. I didn't realize what happened. I got up, and it was like my legs were just twisted.

Q: How long did it take for you to recover?

A: I guess my bones, at that age, rejuvenate pretty fast. It took a year and half, two years to recover. After about eight months of rehab, I was back out there. I was walking with a walker for a time. My legs were so weak from being in a cast.

Q: Did you ever feel sorry for yourself?

A: I never did. They told me I might not walk, but in my mind, I knew I was going to be all right. As a kid, I used to have dreams of winning the Olympic gold medal running the 400 meters.

Q: How did you get involved in track?

A: I was introduced to track & field when I was 8 years old by a guy named Van Wilkerson. He was a local coach at the local recreation department. I started off running cross country with him. I've run the 1500, the 800. The older I got, the shorter it got. I was a good 400-meter runner in high school, a very good high jumper. I was mediocre in the long jump. I was so athletic, my body just grew. I never really had anybody to teach me track & field until I got to college.

I went to the University of Kentucky for two years. After that, Darryl Anderson, who was the coach at Kentucky, transferred to Arizona State. That's why I went to Arizona State.

I was a 400-meter runner. When I went to Arizona State, I was under the impression I was still going to run the 400. But Greg Kraft [the assistant coach and Phillips' current coach] told me I was going to be a long jumper. At first I was angry about it. Then, after weeks of training, I was beginning to like it. After my second competition, I think I jumped 25 feet for the first time. Then I knew that was my event.

Q: You must have liked Arizona - you still live and train there.

A: Everybody was so supportive of me at Arizona State University. And I love the weather, too. It's great for my training.

Q: What does a big jump feel like?

A: It actually feels like the movie "The Matrix," where he's performing the moves in slow motion. That's how I feel - like I'm moving in slow motion. It takes forever to land.

Q: What would a world record be like?

A: I replay it in my mind a million times. I can see it. I feel it can become a reality soon. <>Q: Why do you compete in track & field?

A: I'm in it for the love and passion I have for it. I still feel like an 8-year-old when I'm competing.

Q: You ran the 100 meters at the Olympic Trials, advancing to the semifinals. Does the speed help your jumping?

A: I think it definitely helped. It made me much faster on the runway. That [speed] gives me a chance to reach new limits in the long jump.