DLV sprinter in the 100-meter final
Sensational Olympic champion drives European Championship audience crazy
09.06.2024, 06:25 a.m.
Marcell Jacobs sensationally ran to gold at the 2021 Olympic Games, but the Italian sprinter has been disappearing again and again since then. He is back just in time for the European Championships at home in Rome – and defended the title he won in Munich two years ago.
Marcell Jacobs showed off his muscles and a wide grin of victory for the clicking cameras. The new and old European champion over 100 meters made the most of the lap of honor in the roaring Stadio Olimpico; it was balm for a sprinter’s soul that had recently been sorely battered. “I’m very happy because everything is getting better from race to race. I know that I’ve made a big bet on myself,” said the Olympic champion after successfully defending his title at his home race in Rome. “We’re on the right track, that’s for sure.”
The 29-year-old won the final in 10.02 seconds and made a strong comeback from major injury problems just in time for the Summer Olympics in Paris. Second place also went to Italy through Chituru Ali (10.05), while Britain’s Romell Glave (10.06) took bronze. Former German champion Owen Ansah also put in a strong performance, coming fifth in 10.17 seconds. Alongside Ansah, Mannheim’s Robin Ganter also made it to the final, but was unable to compete due to muscle problems.
It was not only because of Jacobs’ success that the approximately 30,000 spectators celebrated a great Italian athletics party in the giant bowl of the Stadio Olimpico, which was much better filled than on Friday but was by no means sold out. After two days, the host has already collected five titles and eleven medals – a clear lead in the national rankings.
The competition from Jamaica and the USA is far ahead of Jacobs
For Jacobs, who sensationally sprinted to Olympic gold three years ago in Tokyo with a European record (9.80 seconds) and thus into the spotlight, success was by no means a given. Injuries have repeatedly set the sprint king back in the past. Only once since that magical August 1, 2021 has he stayed under the 10-second mark: in 2022 during his European Championship triumph in Munich (9.95).
“I changed almost everything in my life and promised myself that I wanted to give Italy more emotion,” said Jacobs after the success in Rome. In fact, he turned his life around: for example, he changed his coach and is preparing for the Summer Games in France in the USA under Rana Reider.
However, even after the performance in Rome, hardly anyone would believe that history will repeat itself there. The competition from the USA is too strong, with world champion Noah Lyles (9.85 so far this year) and the Jamaican up-and-comer and fastest of the year Oblique Seville (9.82). But Jacobs would not write himself off. He has three goals: staying healthy, defending the European title – and then winning Olympic gold, he said. His triumph in Rome undoubtedly gave him renewed self-confidence.