INDIANAPOLIS – Olympic gold medalist, four time world champion and Sun Devil hall of famer Dwight Phillips is one of three American track and field icons that will be inducted into the USATF Hall of Fame this winter, the organization announced Thursday.
"It's a great honor for him and obviously much deserved," Sun Devil director of track and field Greg Kraft said. "It was a lot of fun to work with him and watch grow as a person and as a great athlete."
Arguably one of the greatest athlete in school history, Phillips was the best long jumper in the world for nearly three full years and his personal best of 8.74m/28-8.00 feet is the fifth-furthest leap in history.
In college, Phillips competed in just two seasons for ASU, but he left his mark on the squad by setting the school record in the indoor and outdoor long jump, and putting his name on the top-10 list in the 60, 100, and indoor and outdoor triple jumps.
He finished as the runner-up in the indoor long jump twice and once outdoors and earned five other All-America honors in the triple jump (three) and 4x100-merer relay (two).
"He wanted to be a sprinter when he got here, and he was an incredibly talented sprinter, but I thought he would make a great long and triple jumper," Kraft said. "He is the most driven, competitive and single-minded athlete I've worked with, and he became the best long jumper in the world. I don't want to say I was right, but I was right."
Phillips dominated the long jump from 2003-11. During that span he won the Olympic title at Athens in 2004 to go with four World Outdoor golds ('03, '05, '09 and '11) and one World Indoors crown ('03).
His five medals at the World Outdoors is the highest total in meet history in the men's long jump, as is his tally of seven finals made.
He was still a talented sprinter, though, qualifying for the USATF Championships indoors and outdoors, and clocking personal bests of 6.47 for 60m in 2005 and 10.06 for 100m in 2009.
Following his retirement from competition, Phillips has continued to serve the sport through coaching and advocacy. Phillips was instrumental in drawing together a plan that would provide resources and two years of support from USATF for athletes graduating from college.
Additionally, his proudest moment occurred during his time as Chairman of the USATF Athlete Advisory Committee, when he and fellow athletes worked closely with CEO Max Siegel to construct the Revenue Distribution Plan that would deliver $9 million in cash to athletes over a five year span.
The Class of 2018, comprised of a Modern Athlete, Veteran Athlete and Contributor, will be inducted at the USATF Night of Legends on December 1 in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, visit usatf.org.
"It's a great honor for him and obviously much deserved," Sun Devil director of track and field Greg Kraft said. "It was a lot of fun to work with him and watch grow as a person and as a great athlete."
Arguably one of the greatest athlete in school history, Phillips was the best long jumper in the world for nearly three full years and his personal best of 8.74m/28-8.00 feet is the fifth-furthest leap in history.
In college, Phillips competed in just two seasons for ASU, but he left his mark on the squad by setting the school record in the indoor and outdoor long jump, and putting his name on the top-10 list in the 60, 100, and indoor and outdoor triple jumps.
He finished as the runner-up in the indoor long jump twice and once outdoors and earned five other All-America honors in the triple jump (three) and 4x100-merer relay (two).
"He wanted to be a sprinter when he got here, and he was an incredibly talented sprinter, but I thought he would make a great long and triple jumper," Kraft said. "He is the most driven, competitive and single-minded athlete I've worked with, and he became the best long jumper in the world. I don't want to say I was right, but I was right."
Phillips dominated the long jump from 2003-11. During that span he won the Olympic title at Athens in 2004 to go with four World Outdoor golds ('03, '05, '09 and '11) and one World Indoors crown ('03).
His five medals at the World Outdoors is the highest total in meet history in the men's long jump, as is his tally of seven finals made.
He was still a talented sprinter, though, qualifying for the USATF Championships indoors and outdoors, and clocking personal bests of 6.47 for 60m in 2005 and 10.06 for 100m in 2009.
Following his retirement from competition, Phillips has continued to serve the sport through coaching and advocacy. Phillips was instrumental in drawing together a plan that would provide resources and two years of support from USATF for athletes graduating from college.
Additionally, his proudest moment occurred during his time as Chairman of the USATF Athlete Advisory Committee, when he and fellow athletes worked closely with CEO Max Siegel to construct the Revenue Distribution Plan that would deliver $9 million in cash to athletes over a five year span.
The Class of 2018, comprised of a Modern Athlete, Veteran Athlete and Contributor, will be inducted at the USATF Night of Legends on December 1 in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, visit usatf.org.