Dwight Phillips Gold Medal, Long Jump

Dwight Phillips left no doubt that he is the world’s leading long jumper with his emphatic victory at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

He won the gold medal with a leap of 8.59 meters (28 feet, 2.25 inches), just shy of his personal best of 8.60 meters (28 feet, 2.75 inches) set at Linz, Austria, earlier in the 2004 season. It was the first U.S. Olympic men’s long jump gold medal since Carl Lewis won at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

In 2003, Phillips exploded on the world scene by winning the World Indoor and Outdoor Championships, establishing himself as the world’s leading long jumper. Phillips placed eighth overall at the Olympics in Sydney and earned a No. 3 world ranking in 2002.