Idowu receives MBE
Phillips Idowu is ready to "put the hard work in" for London 2012 glory after being awarded an MBE.
Last Updated: 05/10/11 9:27am
Phillips Idowu insists he's ready to "put the hard work in" for London 2012 glory after being awarded an MBE for services to athletics.
The triple jumper was presented with the award by the Princess Royal at a Windsor Castle investiture ceremony - but was without his trademark dyed hair.
He usually sports a red crop but said he had not coloured it all season except for a promotional event.
Idowu has been a leading athlete for a decade, winning golds at the Commonwealth Games, European Championships and World Indoor Championships.
But the athlete lost his outdoor World Championships crown last month in a hard-fought competition, beaten into silver medal place by American Christian Taylor.
But he remained positive, saying his training has been geared towards London 2012 rather than retaining his title.
He said: "Losing the title does take a lot of pressure off me going into the Olympic Games and I can just get my head down and focus on the Olympics.
"At the beginning of this season I always said my main goal was the Olympic Games so my training schedule is based on that and the World Championships is just a stepping stone towards that."
He added: "I'm ready to put the hard work in, it's going to be the biggest sporting event of my career ever. The Olympics is a big thing in anyone's career but to have it at home is going to be special, and being born and raised and schooled in East London makes it that much closer to my heart."
