Dwight Phillips of the United States going for gold medal during the men's long jump final (© Getty Images)
Fourtime World Long Jump champion Dwight Phillips is relishing time at home with his family but also reports in his latest IAAF Diary that he’s training well and s delighted with his current form.
“It’s been another busy month since I last wrote. The days are as busy as ever.
“We had Elijah’s birthday party a couple of weeks ago which was a major event. We had a jungle gym and a few people over. Some of our friends came with their kids and we had a great time.
“I enjoy being a parent and like to go all kinds of places with my family. My kids enjoy lots of different things around Atlanta. I will take them to the zoo, to the national monument in Georgia, Six Flags Over Georgia - a big amusement park near Atlanta. They are at the age now where I finally want to take them to Disney World - hopefully after I win the Olympics.
“We haven’t done any of those trips recently because I have been so focused on training for the Olympic trials and also overseeing our media projects.
“I just recently revamped our company name from Rebel Star Media to Quick Time Cinema. I wanted the name to be reflection of me and how I move. Quick Time, that’s me!
“Our next project is going to be something on autistic kids. We are doing a documentary on autism.
“There needs to be more awareness of this condition. I chose the autism project because I was using a hyperbaric chamber for recovery from training and when I was there, there were a lot of autistic kids using hyperbaric chambers to get more oxygen into the brain.
“It was so inspiring. Some of these kids couldn’t talk. Their parents thought they couldn’t hear but, after having this therapy, they were able to talk and communicate. It really touched my heart.
“We are seeing a lot more immunization in our kids than we did twenty years ago and it’s really causing a problem. That for me is something I want to show so that parents in the future can take preventative measures. There’s a lot of things that can be done to prevent autism.
“I am training well. I have started jumping and I just can't wait to go out and start competing some time in May. I think it may be in Japan or somewhere like that. I can’t wait. I wont be at ‘Pre’ (Samsung Diamond League meeting in Eugene) as the Long Jump is not on the program.
“I have been to Japan many times. I always enjoy the experience, the people are great, the food is great, the culture and it's a place where I enjoy the electronics - I am an electronics guy.
“I haven't been to any more NBA games since watching my Atlanta Hawks get beaten badly. But I have been following the NCAA Championships. I went to the University of Kentucky for my first two years of college before going to Arizona State and now Kentucky are in the final four. I want to watch them.
“I couldn't ask to be in any better condition for this time of year, I am just looking forward to competing.
“Once I have put the kids to bed I will hang out with my wife for a while. But I don’t do much by the end of the day I am pretty much exhausted. That’s fine. I will be ready for the Olympic trials.”
Dwight
