Phillips Gets An Upgrade

Oh, the difference a gold medal can make. Don't be fooled by Phillips Idowu's appearance. Behind the ever-changing hair colour and the various bits of facial jewellery is a determined but unassuming man who, until Tuesday night at the world championships in Berlin, had dreamt of winning an outdoor global title. He should have been Olympic champion last year but had to settle for silver, but last week he made no mistake to become the new world champion. On the Wednesday he settled himself down in his economy seat to fly back to London and was genuinely surprised to see all the fuss and interest meted out to him by fellow passengers. But the best part was what we all aim for when we fly. The British Airways staff felt it fit that the least they could do was to offer the triple jumper an upgrade into business. And so, with a hop, skip and a jump, Phillips Idowu sat back in his larger, comfier seat, stretched out his long legs and smiled. The difference between gold and silver was a matter of a few centimetres at the Olympic Stadium, but on a British Airways flight it is the difference between economy and business.