Olympic Q&A: Dwight Phillips

2003 world indoor and outdoor long jump champion Dwight Phillips (26, Tempe, Ariz.) is on the island 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 http://www.usatf.org/events/2004/OlympicGames/roster_alpha.asp

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.

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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.