Philips Idowu pulls out of World Athletics trials

Triple jumper Phillips Idowu has pulled out of the World Athletics trials in Birmingham.

While the top two athletes from each event will represent the UK in next month's finals in Daegu, South Korea, the 32-year-old will still compete at the championships due to his automatic selection as world champion.

"I've had a tough couple of weeks, trained really hard and I feel I've taken a slight downward spiral," he told BBC Sport.

"I didn't want to put in a performance that was below par. I'm not at my best right now as we're starting to wind things up in preparation for Daegu."