Phillips defends world title in men's long jump in Daegu

American veteran jumper and reigning world champ Dwight Phillips defended his men's long jump title with a leap of 8.45 meters on Friday night at the Daegu World Championships. Phillips opened with 8.31m. The 34-year-old, in surprisingly good shape in Daegu, improved his mark in the second attempt to 8.45m, which is his personal season best. The result is 13 centimeters longer than his previous best of 8.32m, which he achieved in Thursday's qualifying round. Mitchell Watt of Australia, 23, who won bronze two years ago in Berlin, took silver with a leap of 8.33m in his second attempt. Zimbabwe's multi-talented Ngonidzashe Makusha finished third with a first-attempt leap of 8.29m. South Korean home hope, Kim Deok-hyeon, didn't show up in the long jump final, after injuring himself on Friday morning in the triple jump qualifying.