17 November 2009

UKA today launched the 2010 Aviva Grand Prix, which will be held in the National Indoor Area (NIA), Birmingham on 20 February, with a celebration of Phillips Idowu’s World Championship winning triple jump in the city centre.

The occasion featured human statues mirroring his hop, step and jump process, highlighted the incredible 17.73m distance which earned him a gold medal at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August.

Local fans and school children lined the sides of the makeshift runway, situated in the busy town centre, to show support for the London-born athlete who has lived and trained in Birmingham since 2008.

Idowu, who took a break after the outdoor season and has been back in training for three weeks, said: “I’m happy to be back and I want to build on what I’ve done since 2006. It’s not over! I have been winning medals every year since 2006 so it’s nice to have a world title.

“My focus is now on the indoor season; I want to go and defend my World Indoor title and set a new personal best.”

The Hackney born athlete continued: “Competing in Birmingham again is always nice, it’s my second competition in the UK since Berlin and I didn’t compete in Birmingham last year because I was ill so I’m looking forward to it. I enjoy living here, it was the sacrifice to be successful in my sport but it’s paying off.”

With less than 1,000 days to go until the beginning of the 2012 Olympic Games, Phillips has an important year of athletics in front of him with an action-packed domestic calendar of six UKA events to contend including the  IAAF Diamond League events taking place in Gateshead and London:

Aviva International Match- Glasgow, January 30

Aviva World Trials and UK Championships- Sheffield, February 13 &14

Aviva Grand Prix- Birmingham, February 20

Aviva European Trials and UK Championships- Birmingham, June 25-27

Aviva British Grand Prix including Diamond League- Gateshead, July 10

Aviva London Grand Prix including Diamond League- Crystal Palace, August 13 &14

Follow this link for tickets for the 2010 UKA Indoor and Outdoor events or phone on 0800 055 60 56.