Lamont Marcell Jacobs wins historic 100m gold at the Tokyo Olympics
The Olympic Stadium, Tokyo (CNN)Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs set a new European record as he claimed a shock victory in the men’s 100m at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I really didn’t know anything about him. It was my first time racing him at the Monaco Diamond League (in July),” Kerley later said of Jacobs. “He did a fantastic job (here).”
Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs takes surprising gold in Olympic 100-meter race
Usain Bolt would not recognize what went down on the Olympic track he used to own.
On the night of the 100-meter gold medal race that once belonged to the Jamaican superstar, a Texas-born Italian with a deeper history in long jumping than outdoor sprints won the race that has long defined Olympic royalty.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Lamont Marcell Jacobs is The World’s Fastest Man.
The Italian crossed the line in 9.8 seconds Sunday night, the first medal ever for the country in the 100 meters. Pietro Mennea won the 200 in 1980 and Livio Berruti won that race at the 1960 Games in Rome.
Even in a race with no clear favorites — American Ronnie Baker was a candidate and China’s Su Bingtain ran a shocking 9.83 in the semis — Jacobs was a surprise.
Jacobs topped America’s Fred Kerley and Canada’s Andre DeGrasse to take the spot Bolt had commandeered since 2008.
“I really don’t know anything about him,” Kerley said of the new gold medalist. “He did a fantastic job.”
Jacobs’ victory came only moments after his countryman, Gianmarco Tamberi, tied Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim for gold in the high jump.
Tamberi, writhing on the ground, kicking his feet up in jubilation after his crazy win, was a man in need of someone to hug.
He found him when Jacobs, of all people, crossed the line first, and celebrated by jumping into the broad-chested sprinter’s arms and curling his own arm around Jacobs’ bald head.
They weren’t the only once celebrating the unexpected.
Earlier, Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela broke a 26-year-old world record in the triple jump with a leap of 51 feet, 5 inches (15.67 meters).
The day’s other gold medal went to Gong Lijao of China, who bested American Raven Saunders of the United States. Saunders, who is Black and gay, wears an “Incredible Hulk” mask when she competes, closed out the medals ceremony by lifting her arms above her head and forming an “X” with her wrists.
“It’s the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet,” she explained.
The Jacobs victory came later and left everyone outside Italy — and maybe some in the country, as well — letting out a collective “Who?”
He was born in El Paso, Texas – the son of an American father and an Italian mother. He moved to Italy as a young boy when the U.S. military transferred his dad to South Korea. He was a long-jump specialist for years, and his biggest major running success came in an indoor 60-meter title at European champions earlier this year.
His personal best was an Italian record, 9.95 seconds, set in May. It was the first time he’d broken 10 seconds.
Now, he’s on the list with Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Bolt — an Olympic 100-meter champion.
His path was made that much easier when American Trayvon Bromell, who came into Tokyo with the world’s leading time and as the odds-on favorite, didn’t even make the final.
Bromell ran his semifinal heat in 9.996 seconds to finish third, and said “I’m not really sure what I could’ve done better, but the race went the way the race went.”
Marcell Jacobs
 Jacobs in 2020
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Lamont Marcell Jacobs Jr. |
| National team | Italy: (2016–2021)[1] |
| Born | 26 September 1994 El Paso, Texas, United States |
| Height | 1.88Â m (6Â ft 2Â in) |
| Weight | 79Â kg (174Â lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Long jump Sprinting |
| Club | G.S. Fiamme Oro |
| Coached by | Paolo Camossi |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | |
|
Medal record
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Lamont Marcell Jacobs Jr. (born 26 September 1994) is an Italian male sprinter and long jumper. He won the 60 m title during the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships. On 1 August 2021, Jacobs set a new 100 m European record with a time of 9.80 at the 2020 Olympics, winning the gold medal in the process. He is the first Italian to win the 100 m Olympic title.
Jacobs closed the 2020–21 indoor season as World Leader at 60 metres.
Biography
Son of an Italian mother and an African American father, a United States Army soldier serving at Caserma Ederle in Italy, he was born in El Paso, Texas, where he spent only his first month. When his father was transferred to South Korea, he moved to Desenzano del Garda with his mother. He began competing in athletics there at the age of ten, initially preferring sprinting, then discovering the long jump in 2011. He later moved to Rome, where he lives with his partner Nicole and his two children, Anthony (born 2019) and Megan (born 2021). Jacobs has a son, Jeremy (born 2013), from a previous relationship when he was 19.
In 2016, Jacobs won the Italian Athletics Championships in long jump. With a personal best of 8.07 m, he ranked at tenth place on the IAAF world leading list at the end of the 2017 indoor season. At the 2016 Italian U23 Championships he jumped 8.48 m, the best performance for an Italian, although this result cannot be recognized as a national record due to the wind in favour of 2.8Â m/s (the regulation limit is 2.0Â m/s).
On 13 May 2021, in Savona, Italy, he set the Italian record in the 100 metres with a time of 9.95 s, becoming the 150th person in history to break the 10-second barrier. On 26 June 2021, notwithstanding a headwind of −1.0 m/s, he beat the Italian championships’ record with a time of 10.01 s, in Rovereto, winning his fourth national title in a row.
When questioned about his origins, he said he feels 100% Italian, admitting he is not very good at speaking English.
He became the 2020 men’s 100 m Olympic champion on 1 August 2021.
Statistics
National records
- 60 metres: 6.47, Toruń, 6 March 2021. Current holder.
- 100 metres: 9.80, Tokyo, 1 August 2021. Current holder.
- 4×100 m relay: 38.11, Doha, 4 October 2019, he ran second leg in the team with Federico Cattaneo, Davide Manenti, Filippo Tortu; current holder
Personal bests
| Event | Mark | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60Â m | 6.47Â s | N/A | |
6 March 2021 | Indoor, WL, NR |
| 100Â m | 9.80Â s | +0.1 | |
1 Aug 2021 | AR, NR |
| 200Â m | 20.61Â s | +0.2 |  |
6 May 2018 | |
| Long jump | 8.07Â m | N/A |  |
4 February 2017 | Indoor |
| 8.48Â m | +2.8 | |
10 June 2016 | Wind-assisted |
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Performance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Mediterranean U23 Championships | |
1st | Long jump | 7.95Â m | PB |
| European Championships |  |
11th | Long jump | 7.59Â m | [note 1] | |
| 2017 | European Indoor Championships |  |
Qual. | Long jump | 7.70Â m | |
| 2018 | European Championships |  |
SF | 100 m | 10.28 | |
| 2019 | IAAF World Relays | |
DNF | 4×100 m relay | no time | [note 2] |
| European Team Championships (SL) | |
2nd | 100 m | 10.39 | [note 3] | |
| European Indoor Championships |  |
Qual. | Long jump | N.M. | ||
| World Championships | |
SF | 100Â m | 10.20 | [note 4] | |
| SF | 4×100 m relay | 38.11 | NR | |||
| 2021 | European Indoor Championships | |
1st | 60Â m | 6.47 | WL, NR |
| World Relays | |
2nd | 4×100 m relay | 39.21 | [15] | |
| Olympic Games | |
1st | 100Â m | 9.80 | AR |
Other meetings
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Performance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | International Triveneto meeting | |
1st | 100 m | 10.10 | |
| 2021 | International Savona meeting | |
1st | 100 m | 9.95 | NR |
| BAUHAUS-galan |  |
2nd | 100 m | 10.05 | ||
| Herculis |  |
3rd | 100 m | 9.99 |
National titles
Jacobs won seven national championships at individual senior level.
- Italian Athletics Championships
- 100 m: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (4)
- Long jump: 2016 (1)
- Italian Athletics Indoor Championships
- 60 m: 2021 (
-
- 1)
- Long jump: 2017 (1)
