It was a stunning fall for Bromell, who had made a remarkable comeback to the top of the sport after tearing his achilles during the 4x100m relay at the 2016 Rio Games and being carried off the track in a wheelchair.Īfter two years out of the sport, Bromell worked his way back and established himself as the world’s top 100m sprinter. There were signs that Bromell was not in medal-winning form a day earlier when he finished only fourth in his first-round heat in 10.05. He got off to a quick start and took the early lead but never found a second gear and was passed in the final metres by Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke and Hughes. Hughes was disqualified from the final after a false start.īromell missed out after finishing third in his heat in 10 seconds flat. Kerley (9.96) and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (9.98) won the other two semifinals. Only twice previously had three men gone inside 9.85 in the same 100m race – the Olympic final in 2012 and the 2009 World Championships final in 2009. For good measure, Simbine clocked 9.90 to finish fourth in that heat. Baker finished second with a personal best 9.83 and Jacobs was third in a European record 9.84. Su blazed to victory in the third heat in an Asian record 9.83 to become the first Chinese sprinter to reach an Olympic 100m final. Signs that something special was about to happen in the final came earlier during the semifinals, which produced some stunning results, including a record-breaking heat in which three men ran under 9.85. Jacobs started out as a long jumper but, after a series of injuries, he changed to the sprints. He moved to Italy with his mother when he was one-year-old. Jacobs’ story may not be known by the general public: He was born in El Paso, Texas, to an American father and Italian mother. “I believe in him and I believed in myself.” “Being here together is something spectacular," Jacobs said. The two Italians embraced and celebrated together on the track. Jacobs’ victory capped a golden night for Italy, coming minutes after another Italian, Gianmarco Tamberi, shared gold in the men’s high jump with Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim. And his time? The fastest in the men’s 100m by an athlete not from the US or Jamaica. Jacobs is the first Italian to win a sprint event since Pietro Mennea took gold in the men’s 200m in 1980. I thought my main competition would have been the Americans, but definitely he came to play. “I really didn’t know anything about him,” Kerley said.ĭe Grasse added: “I didn't expect that. It was the first time since 2004 that gold in the marque event was won by someone other than Bolt, the Jamaican great who swept three consecutive 100m titles in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro, as well as three straight 200m crowns.įew would have predicted that the man to succeed Bolt on the top podium would be Jacobs, who became the first European to win the 100m at the Olympics since Britain’s Linford Christie in Barcelona in 1992.Įven his race rivals didn’t see Jacobs as much of a threat. “Maybe tomorrow I can imagine what people are saying, but today it is incredible.” “It’s a dream, it’s fantastic,” Jacobs said. But he chose the right time and place to announce himself on the world’s biggest stage. He is the European indoor 60m champion and broke the Italian 100m record in May with a time of 9.95. The bald-headed, barrel-chested Italian did not come completely out of nowhere. In a race with no obvious favourites, Jacobs was still a major surprise. The pre-Olympic favorite, US champion and world-leader Trayvon Bromell, failed to qualify for the final. Three other runners also ran sub-10 seconds in the final: South Africa’s Akani Simbine finished fourth in 9.93, the USA's Ronnie Baker was fifth in 9.95 and China’s Su Bingtian was sixth in 9.98. The Italian pulled in front after 60 meters and glanced to his right as he crossed the line in front of the USA's Fred Kerley, who took silver in a personal best 9.84, and Canada’s Andre De Grasse, who earned his second consecutive bronze in a PB of 9.89. Overlooked as a serious medal contender, the 26-year-old Jacobs clocked a European record of 9.80 to win Italy’s first ever Olympic 100m gold and claim the unofficial title of the world’s fastest man. Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs, a former long jumper appearing in his first Olympics, stunned the field on Sunday (1) to claim the first men’s 100m gold medal of the post-Usain Bolt era.
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