Idowu makes a safe landing in the village

After a much talked about disappearing act, the invisible man of Team GB Phillips Idowu has finally made it to the athletes village.

Great Britain's 33-year-old former world champion triple jumper didn't travel to Portugal with the rest of the UK Athletics team for their pre-Games training, in order to continue treatment on a hip injury.

There have been question marks over the fitness of Idowu, with the British Olympic Association asking to see his medical records — although it has since downplayed its concerns.

The UK's head athletics coach, Charles van Commenee, called Idowu "the invisible man", after revealing that the athlete had stopped communicating with his coach, Aston Moore, a couple of weeks ago.

The Dutchman said he didn't know where Idowu was or if he would be competing at the Games. But Idowu took to Twitter last week to say he would, indeed, be competing.

He said: "I'm in London, where I have been for the last few weeks, finalising my prep and receiving therapy. My coach knew about this and it has not been a secret." Idowu landed awkwardly on 2 June in Oregon and hasn't competed since.

Qualifying for the men's triple jump begins today, and the final is on Thursday. His problematic few weeks have seen bookmakers lengthen his odds on winning the gold medal, though he is still favourite.