Idowu took only three of his six attempts to win the Aviva National Championships title in Birmingham – then insisted he feels Edwards's historic mark of 18.29m is well within his sights.

The Olympic gold medal contender had already produced three of the eight furthest jumps in the world before yesterday's meeting where he soared to a huge 17.58m.

With his eyes on the fast-approaching Aviva London Grand Prix and then the Beijing Games, Idowu called it a day as Larry Achike and Nathan Douglas both jumped 17.18m to take the minor placings with Olympic 'A' qualifiers.

Commonwealth champion Idowu said: "I feel comfortable being British and world No 1."

Referring to his winning effort, he insisted: "I think I can put 80 centimetres to a metre on that."

Another Beijing gold medal prospect, heptathlete Kelly Sotherton, dismissed an injury scare after withdrawing from the long jump – won by Jade Johnson – after three rounds.