Dwight Phillips overcame major obstacles, including gravity, to become the best Long Jumper in the World

by Kim Goss JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images Dwight Phillips overcame major obstacles, including gravity, to become the best long jumper in the world Arizona. Charles said that Phillips had poor upperdid: Just three weeks before the Olympics, Phillips body strength and was relatively weak in the hamcompeted in Linz, Austria, and made a personal strings and vastus medialis (a quadriceps muscle that best of 28’ 2 ¾ ”. He would be the man to beat in crosses the knee). Poliquin also said Phillips needed Athens. to work on his upper-body strength and his eccentric In Athens, Phillips got off to a great start by (lowering, or making 28’ 2 ¼ ” braking) strength.

on his first jump, In addition to despite only prescribing perusing half the sonalized weight board at takeoff. training proHe didn’t grams, Poliquin increase his disworked on tance in his Phillips’ diet. He remaining put him on a jumps, but the Paleo (i.e., “cavefirst mark was man”) diet, four enough to secure days on and one him the gold day off, and used ahead of “extensive food America’s John supplements and Moffitt, who IV nutrition to made a personal compensate for best of 27’ 9 ½ ” years of poor on his fifth diet.” jump. The Phillips bronze medal worked hard on went to Juan his weaknesses, Lino Martinez of and he eventually Spain with a best made some of 27’ 3 ¾ ”.

The impressive lifts 2000 Olympic in the weightchampion room. Weighing Pedroso finished only 176 pounds, 7th with 27’. Phillips has Said Phillips power snatched after the compe264 pounds and tition, “I’m full TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images front squatted, all of joy. It was an the way down, amazing night.” 350 pounds. As And with charAfter winning his Olympic gold medal, Phillips said, for his initial acteristic focus, upper-body weak- “I would like to be known as a patriotic guy.

A guy he remembered ness, Phillips did to add that he that was raised well by my mom and dad, a guy so well on would be continwho’s always smiling, and a guy who’s always going Poliquin’s uing to work on to give his all….” strength program breaking that he could Powell’s world bench press 280 record. pounds for four reps and perform two wide-grip pullAs for how he would like people to consider ups with 85 pounds tied to his waist. him, Phillips says, “I would like to be known as a At the 2004 Olympic trials on July 12, Phillips patriotic guy. A guy that was raised well by my easily won with 27’ 2”, passing on his last three mom and dad, a guy who’s always smiling, and a attempts.

He also competed in the 100 meters, hopguy who’s always going to give his all, in everying to earn a spot on a relay team, but got only as far thing he does, not only in track and field but in as the semifinals. With the relay out of the picture, it every part of my life.”Spoken like a true champiwas time to focus on the long jump. And focus he on— make that Olympic champion! BFS When a 14-year-old boy from Tucker, Georgia, was struck by a motorcycle 12 years ago while playing street football, doctors were not optimistic about his recovery.

Both legs were broken below the knees, and the right leg was injured so badly that the question was not whether the boy would be able play sports again, but whether he would be able to walk at all.

The doctors placed his legs in casts for four months, starting him on a rehabilitation program that would last two years, and then it was up to the boy’s family to wait with faith that their son would regain full use of his legs. The young man’s name is Dwight Phillips, the same Dwight Phillips who won the Olympic gold medal in the long jump in Athens. About his accident, Phillips said that it taught him not to take anything for granted and how to fight through adversity. That attitude enabled him to make the track and basketball teams at Tucker High School. When he was a senior he high jumped 6’ 10”, triple jumped 50’ 10”and long jumped 23 feet.

Phillips went on to attend the University of Kentucky for two years before transferring to Arizona Sate. At that time Phillips considered himself a sprinter and eventually made personal bests of 10.16 in the 100 meters and 20.68 in the 200 meters. However, Arizona State track coach Greg Kraft convinced Phillips to focus on the long jump, as he believed the talented young man would do better in that event. In just his second college meet Phillips jumped over 25 feet, and soon he had visions of winning the gold medal and breaking the world record held by Mike Powell at 29’ 4 ½“. At the 2000 Olympic trials Phillips finished second, then went on to jump 26’

5 ½ ”to place eighth, the highest of any American. Ivan Pedroso of Cuba won the gold with a best of 28’ ¾ ”. Phillips says he “competed on emotion”and needed to focus on improving his technique. In February of 2004, Phillips started working with strength coach Charles Poliquin, whose gym was near Phillips’ current residence in Tempe, An example of one of Dwight Phillips’ sophisticated weight training workouts, written for him by Charles Poliquin during Phillips’ final preparations for the Olympics.

From BFS Magazine — November/December 2004. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).