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Phillips wins long jump
Athens - American long jumper Dwight Phillips added the Olympic Games gold medal to his world title on Thursday by reaching a massive 8.59 metres on his opening jump.
Phillips, jumping eighth in the first round, became the 22nd American to win the event at the Olympics.
He then fouled twice as he tried to go even further and then passed in the fourth and fifth rounds while he surveyed what the opposition could produce.
Returning to the runway for the last jump of the competition, he managed to go out to 8.35m despite knowing that he had added the Olympic gold medal to the world championship title he won last summer.
The United States' made it a 1-2 on the medal podium when John Moffit leapt out to 8.47m in the penultimate round to add 18cm to his personal best and move up from fourth to second.
Spain's Joan Lino Martinez, who is a former Cuban international, produced a personal best of 8.32m in the second round to get the bronze medal.
Jamaica's James Beckford, the Atlanta Olympics silver medallist, failed to make the podium by just one centimetre with an effort of 8.31m.
Cuba's defending Olympic champion Ivan Pedroso finished seventh with a season's best of 8.23m, showing that he was still a jumper to be reckoned with after two years of injuries.
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