British star Phillips Idowu to take break from athletics
Britain's former world champion triple jumper Phillips Idowu will take a break from the sport.
Last Updated: 10/07/13 1:03pm
Idowu has had a poor last 12 months, failing to make the Olympic final in London.
Before that he publically fell out with former GB head coach Charles van Commenee over his preparations for the Games.
He was left out of the Great Britain squad at last month's European Team Championships in Gateshead but he had been expected to compete at this weekend's World Championship trials in Birmingham.
Idowu said: "After some careful consideration I have decided that for the foreseeable future I will be taking a step back from athletics.
Support
"I feel this is the right time for me to make this decision and it's not a choice I've made lightly. I greatly appreciate all of the support I have received over the past years, particularly from the British public and my team and sponsors; it has been an extremely happy and successful time.
"I'm excited about pursuing other interests and taking other opportunities that present themselves to me during this break."
British Athletics performance director Neil Black said: "It's a big, brave decision for Phil and whilst we're sad to see him hang up his spikes for now, he's had a fantastic career.
"Winning medals across all major championships, including gold at world, European and Commonwealth is a brilliant record."
