BOA ask Phillips Idowu for details of hip injury as doubt looms over his Olympic chances

The British Olympic Association have asked triple jumper Phillips Idowu for details of the injury which forced him to pull out of Great Britain’s training camp in the Algarve.

Idowu, 33, failed to travel to the training camp in Portugal on Monday prompting the BOA to seek clarification about his hip injury.

Darryl Seibel, a BOA spokesman, said: “Our chief medical officer Dr Ian McCurdie wrote to Phillips and his agent yesterday asking that he provide to Dr McCurdie the relevant medical records relating to his injury and the treatment he is currently receiving.

“Those should be provided to our chief medical officer on a confidential basis.

“The basis for doing this is a clause in our team members’ agreement that says athletes are required to provide details of any injury or illness that may impact on their performance during the Games.”

A fully-fit Idowu would be one of the top medal hopes amongst British track and field athletes.

Idowu is due to compete on August 7 and his coach Aston Moore said he has chosen to stay in London for treatment from a private physiotherapist.

On Monday in a statement, Moore said: “In training recently Phillips has had an ongoing injury problem and we have not been able to go at things 100%.

“At the weekend Phillips told me he would continue to seek treatment from a private physio in London and would not travel to prepare in Portugal, although he may join us here later.

“He is an experienced athlete who I have worked with for more than four years and we will assess the situation again in the coming days.”

Idowu, who was denied Olympic gold by just five centimetres in Beijing four years ago, has been at the centre of speculation about his fitness since his last competitive appearance on June 1 in Oregon, when he took three jumps before sitting out the rest of the competition.

He also withdrew from meetings in Oslo and Paris and the Olympic trials in Birmingham, with Charles van Commenee, UK Athletics head coach, declining to clarify Idowu’s situation due to issues of “medical confidentiality”.

Idowu claimed before the London Grand Prix that he had never mentioned an injury and was happy to let the “rumour mill stir itself”, yet pulled out of the competition at Crystal Palace with a hip problem he felt while warming up.

He wrote on Twitter: “Hey guys, sorry to have to pull out of #ALGP, slight bit of muscle tightness. I will be fine in a day or 2. Hope the other jumpers put on a great show for you. See you 7th aug. thanks for your support.”

With the August 7 date for the triple jump qualifying at the London Games fast-approaching, Idowu is quickly running out of time to get himself in top shape.