2009 European Athlete of the Year Phillips Idowu won the men's triple jump with a career best leap of 17.81m on Thursday night.

You can lose as much as you like as long as you win the big ones might well be Phillips Idowu's motto. He came to Barcelona with a season's best of a solid but not spectacular 17.48m, but left not only with the gold medal round his neck but a personal best by 8cm, leaving his new mark at an impressive 17.81m.

“It feels great to have jumped a personal best,” said Idowu. “My build-up to the championships was not great but I am very happy to be able to jump consistently today. Now I am just missing one title – the Olympics.”

Meanwhile, the longest jump of the season of 17.98m belongs to France's Teddy Tamgho, but that hardly matters where medals are concerned. If Idowu were a poker player, he could obviously make a success of it because he has approached the season with the relaxed air of a man holding a royal flush ready to lay his cards on the table at the right moment.

The French star, of whom so much was expected, asked too much of his body after sustaining hamstring and calf injuries which obliged him to miss the Paris Diamond League and now leaves Catalonia with only bronze.

“I'm not satisfied at all,” said Tamgho. “Physically I was here but not mentally. It's a shame.”

A surprise silver went to Romanian Marian Oprea who missed last year recuperating from an operation on his left knee in late 2008. But what a reward for sheer persistence! Olympic silver in 2004, world bronze in 2005, European bronze in 2006 and now silver. Oprea has earned every single medal and the respect to go with it.

“The competition was a little bit stressful because of the weather conditions,” said Oprea. “I didn't find my rhythm until the fifth jump. I am happy with the silver because I did not have great expectations.”

The action opened for Idowu with a low-key but respectable 17.46m laying down a marker. When his turn came Tamgho got the crowd going with some Spanish style rhythmic clapping, but almost overbalanced on the jump phase, did a double kick, landed awkwardly on his feet, but still did 17.12m.

For his second jump, Idowu improved by a single centimetre while Oprea had his first decent jump for two years, hitting the sand at 17.19m to move momentarily into silver with a season's best by 17cm. But the situation was only temporary as the Frenchman's response was a decent 17.42m. Battle commenced.

The end of the third round saw two significant casualties as the European indoor champion Fabio Donato of Italy could only manage 16.54m and didn't take further part in proceedings. European silver indoors and out, Briton Nathan Douglas, also exited with a 15.53m.

For his fifth try everything clicked for Oprea as he hit the sand at 17.51m and silver was safe.

Tamgho tried desperately to respond, but it was only 17.45m - not enough - and his final effort of 17.34m only confirmed him in bronze.