World champion advises athletes
A TWO-day seminar on athletics training in the TRNC was attended by four-times world long-jump champion Dwight Phillips.
The American, now 41, was 2004 Olympic champion in the long-jump and his personal best of 8.74m, set in 2009, earned him the ranking of joint fifth best-ever long-jumper in the world.
Organised by the TRNC Athletics Federation, the seminar saw the champion and international coach Ariyo Taiwo hand down practical advice and information on subjects such as power training and techniques.
Mr Phillips and Mr Taiwo also visited the Turkish Indoor Athletics Championships which took place in Lefkoşa’s Atatürk Sports Hall, where they made “technical analyses” of competitors’ technique.
Speaking on the first day of the seminar last Friday last week, Mr Phillips said he was “delighted” to be in North Cyprus “to share my experiences”.
“When I was a kid, I was not the best athlete,” he told his audience. “I had to work hard. My coaches never believed I could succeed, however my family was of enormous support which pushed me forward.
“The rankings are just results but there is a lot of work behind them.”