BOLT FROM THE BLUE
Own to even the r next to him, Jacobs is the 00m Olympic pion in the sain Bolt era
The 100 meters at the s is the event that turns rs into kings: Jesse Carl Lewis, Usain Bolt. e of the most unusual he sport has ever seen, erts, and even the comthemselves needed a ard. race that has long Olympic royalty went to born Italian who hadn’t 10 seconds until this ’s a 26-year-old whose s before this came in jump. He’s a man even ner in the next lane ally know. e Tokyo Olympics, Marcell Jacobs is The Fastest Man. nk I need four or five realize and understand appening,” Jacobs said. alian crossed the line in unday night to capture 100m medal ever for the
better known for its prowess. Pietro Mennea 200m at the 1980 Olymmoscow and Livio Bern that race at the 1960 n Rome. in a contest with no vourites — American Baker was a candidate na’s Su Bingtian ran a g 9.83s in the semis — ame from nowhere. pped America’s Fred a 400m runner who down in distance he saw a medal chance, ada’s Andre De Grasse, s another 100m bronze ne he won Rio. Kerley second in 9.84s and e was next at 9.89s. ly don’t know anything im,” Kerley said of the d medallist. “He did a
job.”
Jacobs’s path was made that much clearer because of who wasn’t in the race.
The reigning world champion, Christian Coleman, is serving a ban for missed doping tests.
The world leader in
2021 and the favourite to win the gold, Trayvon Bromell, didn’t make it out of the semifinals. And for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Games, there was no Jamaican in the final, Bolt’s long-time former teammate Yohan Blake failing to qualify from his semifinals.
Bolt, who has commandeered the Olympic and every other sprint stage since 2008, is retired. He was a sure thing in all nine Olympic sprints he ran from the Beijing Games — a stretch of dominance that redefined track and field, but also left a gaping hole in the sport when he called it a career.
“He changed athletics forever,” Jacobs said. “I’m the one who won the Olympics after him. That’s unbelievable. But drawing comparisons, I don’t think it’s the time now.”
Bolt’s world record is 9.58s. Before Sunday, Jacobs’ personal best was 9.95s.
“I mean, 9.8 from the Italian guy?” De Grasse said. “I didn’t expect that. I thought my main competition would be the Americans.”
Nope. The Italians.
“I crafted a really good team to support me,” Jacobs said of his improvement.
“We changed the starts. And we work mentality. Mentality, good food, good physiotherapy.
“I really work hard with my mind. Because when I was arriving at the big moment my legs don’t work too good. Now my legs go really good when it’s a big moment,” he added.
Perhaps the only person at the track who really knew the new champion was the man who hugged him after he crossed the finish line.
That was Gianmarco Tamberi, the Italian high jumper who tied Qatari’s Mutaz Essa
Barshim for gold.
After an overflow of emotions after his win, he found just the person a few minutes later when Jacobs crossed the line first. Tamberi leaped into the broad-chested sprinter’s arms and curled his own arm around Jacobs’ bald head.
Only a night before, they’d been sitting in Jacobs’s tiny room in the Olympic village playing video games.
“And we said, ‘Can you imagine if we win?”” Jacobs said. “(We said) ’No, no, no. It’s impossible. Don’t think this.’”