Phillips Idowu underlined his position as Great Britain’s best hope for a medal at the World Championships this summer when he defeated all his main rivals for a podium place in the triple jump here last night. As a new Golden League season opened, Idowu fired out a message to Jonathan Edwards and anybody else failing to believe in him as he does in himself.

In the strongest field of the meeting, Idowu defeated Christian Olsson, the Olympic and European champion, Walter Davis, the indoor and outdoor world champion, and Jadel Gregório, the world No 1 this year. No more colourful a character is to be found in British athletics than Idowu and, if his jumping could not be ignored, neither could his words or appearance.

Competing, as usual, in an ensemble of dyed yellow hair, headband, long socks and earrings, Idowu proclaimed after leaving the arena that he was ready to add to the Commonwealth and European indoor titles he holds. Was he Britain’s best hope for a World Championship medal in Osaka, Japan, in August? “I always think I am Britain’s best hope for a medal,” he said.

Is he an Olympic champion in the making? “If I did not think that, I would not be doing the sport – I would be playing basketball,” Idowu replied. And, on the observations by Edwards, Britain’s world record-holder in the event, that he was inconsistent? “I know Mr Edwards is around here watching somewhere – I hope he is happy with that performance,” Idowu said.

“Some comments were needed – I had to pull my socks up – but some were not. I heard his comments, but I do not have any animosity towards him. He had the right to be harsh because the guy has jumped 18.29 and I have not. I am trying to emulate what he did. I would like to beat him, but he is not competing any more. So the only thing I have got is his marks to go for.”

Idowu, 28, jumped 17.35 to record the first Golden League win of his career. It now puts him in contention for the $1 million league jackpot for athletes who win at all six meetings in the series. One down, five to go, in Paris, Rome, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin. “I am not thinking about that,” Idowu said. “I just want to keep getting these scalps week by week.”

In what proved the best night for Britain in the Golden League for some years, Nathan Douglas finished fourth in the triple jump, behind Olsson, from Sweden, and Aarik Wilson, from the United States, but ahead of Gregório, from Brazil, and Davis, from the US. Andy Baddeley placed third in a Dream Mile won by Adil Kaouch, from Morocco, and Marlon Devonish excelled in the 100 metres.

Devonish moved up to sixth all-time in the British rankings after recording 10.08sec behind Asafa Powell, the world record-holder, from Jamaica, who clocked 9.94sec and Francis Obikwelu, from Portugal, on 10.06. He is now markedly quicker than Craig Pickering, named by Britain on Tuesday for the European Cup in Munich next week.

Devonish attributed his improvement to the man who beat him into second place. He broke from his routine last winter to learn from training with Obikwelu in Madrid.

In a bizarre scenario, Devonish arrived not expecting to run in the main race, he was invited to do so when another athlete dropped out. However, having run the B race, it was discovered later that, under Golden League rules, he was not allowed to run both. He was thus disqualified, but his mark will be included in the British all-time rankings.

Meseret Defar broke the world record in the women’s 5,000 metres, recording 14min 16.63sec.