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Tokyo Olympics: Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs Wins 100m Gold. Italian Sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs clinched a shocking first place in the 100 meters event at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs set a new European record of 9.80 seconds on Sunday, finishing 0.04 seconds ahead of the USA’s Fred Kerley in second and 0.09 seconds ahead of Canada’s Andre De Grasse in third.
It was a measure of the void at the top of men’s sprinting since Usain Bolt retired that the first Olympic 100m final without him for 17 years featured an unpredictable hodge-podge of athletes, including 60m specialists and 400m runners. In the end, the Italian long jumper won.
The first thing Marcell Jacobs did when he became Olympic champion was to call for a Tricolore flag with a wonderfully Italian hand gesture.
In a wide-open men’s final, Jacobs, 26, chased down American Fred Kerley in the final meters to take the gold, setting a new European record with a time of 9.8 seconds. Kerley picked up the silver as Canadian Andre de Grasse took the bronze.
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The 100m gold medal by Lamont Jacob was a follow up on another gold medal in High Jump secured by another Italian Compatriot, Gianmarco Tamberit, capping a glorious and golden day for Italy.
The two men embraced as Lamont Jacobs’ victory was confirmed, thereby making him the first Italian man to win 100m gold at the Olympics. He is also the first European champion since Great Britain’s Linford Christie in 1992.
The race was not without drama with United Kingdom’s Zharnel Hughes disqualified for a false start while Nigerian Enoch Adegoke pulled out of the race due to a hamstring injury.
Both of these guys could have been in for a chance to clinch a medal. Their absence further lent credence to Lamont Jacob’s good fortune.
Lamont Jacob was made more remarkable given the fact that he had the slowest reaction time out of the blocks, which was more than half a second, at the start of the race.
Jacobs, Kerley and De Grasse all ran personal bests in the final, with De Grasse adding another bronze medal to the one he won at the Rio Olympics five years ago.
“It’s been my dream since I was a child,” Jacobs said after his win. “I’ve won Olympic gold after Usain Bolt, it’s unbelievable. Tonight, staring at the ceiling, perhaps I will realize.”
“I need a week or so to understand what has happened,” Jacobs said. “Seeing Gimbo win the high jump gold fired me up a lot.
Jacobs was born in the United States but moved to Europe with his Italian mother when he was one month old.
He had broken 10 seconds in the 100 meters twice earlier this year and won the 60-meter dash at the European Indoor Championships in Poland in March.
