Marcell Jacobs
Jacobs in 2021
Personal information
Full nameLamont Marcell Jacobs Jr.
National teamItaly (2016–)[1]
Born (1994-09-26) 26 September 1994[1]
El Paso, Texas, United States[1]
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight84 kg (185 lb)[1]
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Long jump
Sprinting
ClubG.S. Fiamme Oro
Coached byPaolo Camossi
Gianni Lombardi[2]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • 60 m: 6.41 (2022) AR
  • 100 m: 9.80 (2021) AR
  • 200 m: 20.61 (2018)
  • 4×100 m relay: 37.50 (2021) NR
  • Long jump: 8.07 m (i) (2017)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Italy
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 0 0
World Championships 0 1 0
World Indoor Championships 1 0 0
European Championships 1 0 0
European Indoor Championships 1 1 0
World Athletics Relays 1 0 0
Mediterranean U23 Championships 1 0 0
Total 7 2 0
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2020 Tokyo100 m
Gold medal – first place2020 Tokyo4×100 m relay
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2023 Budapest4×100 m relay
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Belgrade60 m
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Munich100 m
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 Toruń60 m
Silver medal – second place2023 Istanbul60 m
World Athletics Relays
Gold medal – first place2021 Chorzów4×100 m relay
Mediterranean U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 TunisLong jump

Lamont Marcell Jacobs Jr. (born 26 September 1994) is an Italian track and field sprinter and former long jumper. He is the 2020 Olympic 100 metres champion, the 2022 60 metres world champion, the 2022 European 100 metres champion, the winner of the 100m in the 2020 olympics and a member of the gold medal-winning 4 × 100 m relay team at the 2020 Olympics. He currently holds the 100 metres European record, the 60 metres European record, and is the first Italian to ever qualify for and win the men's 100 metres Olympic final.

Biography

Jacobs after 60 m silver medal won at Istanbul 2023 indoor European championships.
Jacobs and his son Anthony after 60 m gold medal won at Belgrade 2022 indoor world championships.

Early life

Jacobs is the son of Viviana Masini, an Italian woman, and Lamont Marcell Jacobs Sr., an African American serviceman.[3][4][5][6][7] His parents met when his father was a United States Army soldier serving at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy. His father was 18 and his mother was 16 at the time.[7]

His parents married and relocated to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Three years later, Jacobs was born.[7] When he was three weeks old, his father was transferred to South Korea, and Jacobs moved to Desenzano del Garda, in Lombardy, Italy, with his mother.[8][9] His parents split when he was six months old.[10]

He started out playing basketball and football, where his football coach, Adriano Bertazzi, took notice of his speed and suggested that Jacobs try sprinting.[2]

When Jacobs was ten, he began competing in athletics. He preferred sprinting until he discovered the long jump in 2011.

Personal life

Jacobs lives in Rome with his wife, Nicole Daza, and their two children.[9][11] Jacobs has another son, born from a previous relationship when Jacobs was nineteen.[12]

Although Jacobs was born in the United States, he identifies as being Italian.[13]

Jacobs had been estranged from his father since he was an infant; however, in 2020, he reestablished a relationship with him at the suggestion of his mental coach. He cited that reconciling with his father gave him the motivation and peace of mind he needed to focus on winning in the Olympics.[14][15]

Career

Long jump

In 2016, Jacobs won the Italian Athletics Championships in long jump. With a personal best of 8.07 meters, he ranked tenth on the IAAF (now World Athletics) world-leading list at the end of the 2017 indoor season.[16]

At the 2016 Italian U23 Championships, he jumped 8.48 meters, the best performance ever for an Italian, although this result was not recognized as a national record due to a 2.8 m/s tailwind, which was 0.8 m/s above the allowable maximum for any record performance.[17][18]

Jacobs did not participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics due to a hamstring injury.[19]

Sprinting

In 2019, Jacobs decided to focus his efforts exclusively on sprinting, citing frequent injuries while long jumping among the reasons for this switch.[20]

In July 2019, Jacobs lowered his 100 metres personal best to 10.03 seconds, making him the third-fastest Italian in history.[20]

On 6 March 2021, Jacobs won the 60 metres European title at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships held in Toruń, Poland, setting a new national record and worldwide season-best with a time of 6.47 seconds.[20]

On 13 May 2021, in Savona, Italy, Jacobs set the Italian record in the 100 metres with a time of 9.95 seconds, becoming the 150th person in history and the second Italian to break the 10-second barrier.[21] On 26 June 2021, into a headwind of −1.0 m/s in Rovereto, he broke the Italian championship record with a time of 10.01 seconds, winning his fourth national title in a row.

2020 Olympics
Jacobs (left) and teammate Filippo Tortu at Resisprint 2020.

[22]Jacobs won his first 100 metres heat at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 9.94 seconds, improving his own Italian record by 0.01. In the semi-final, he was third with a time of 9.84 seconds, setting a new European record and qualifying for the final with the third overall fastest time. He is the first Italian to ever reach an Olympic 100m final.[23]

In the final, Jacobs won the gold medal with a time of 9.80 seconds, beating Fred Kerley (9.84) and Andre De Grasse (9.89).[24] Jacobs is the first Italian to win the gold medal in the event, and the first European to win since Linford Christie won the event at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.[14]

His effort broke the European record he set in the semi-final earlier that day, recording the fastest time ever run by an athlete that is neither American nor Jamaican. Due to this performance, Jacobs is tied with Steve Mullings as the 10th fastest man of all time.[25][26] Jacobs was not favored to win the race, with bookmakers giving him a three percent chance of winning.[27][28]

Jacobs later won a second gold medal in the 4×100 metres as part of the Italian relay team, along with Lorenzo Patta, Fausto Desalu and Filippo Tortu. It was the first time Italy had ever won this event, and also the first time Italy had earned a medal in the event in 73 years.[29][30] Jacobs ran the team's second leg (split time: 8.925), contributing to its total run time of 37.50 seconds, setting a new Italian record.[31][32]

Due to his outstanding achievements, Jacobs was selected by the Italian Olympic Committee to be Italy's flag bearer during the Olympics closing ceremony.[33]

Jacobs ended his season shortly after the Olympics, citing fatigue, and cancelling two upcoming Diamond League appearances.[34]

After the Games, it was reported that Giacomo Spazzini, who had worked as Jacobs' nutritionist, was involved in a steroid investigation in Italy. In response, Jacobs' agent stated that the athlete had cut ties with Spazzini several months before the Olympics.[35] In 2022, the investigators established that Spazzini himself was a victim of collaboration with a person who turned out to be a fake doctor: the biologist Antonio Armiento who negotiated a sentence of 1 year and 11 months and 20 days for falsely declaring he was a doctor and free prescription of antihistamines and diuretics.[36]

2021/2022 indoor season

Jacobs returned to competition in February 2022, winning the 60 m race at the ISTAF Indoor in Berlin with a time of 6.51.[37] In subsequent races, which included winning the national 60 m indoor title, he lowered his season best to 6.49,[38] arriving at the world indoor championships in Belgrade with the 5th fastest time in the season. In his semi-final he equalled the world leading time of 6.45,[39] held by pre-championship favorite and world record holder Christian Coleman and Bahamian sprinter Terrence Jones, setting a new national record. In the final he edged Coleman by 3 thousands of a second setting a new European record of 6.41,[40] winning the gold medal and becoming the 4th fastest man in history on such distance.

2022 outdoor season

Jacobs was supposed to start his outdoor season competing in the 100 metres at the 2022 Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, however he missed his debut after being hospitalised for a gastrointestinal infection.[41] He officially opened his outdoor season with a time of 10.04, winning an international meet in Savona,[42] after changing his original plan of competing in the 200 metres.[43] Having sustained a slight injury to his biceps femoris, he took the decision to withdraw from three Diamond League meets which were on his calendar.[44]

Having had to withdraw before the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships due to a thigh injury, at the 2022 European Championships in Munich, Jacobs won the 100m final in a time of 9.95 seconds, beating reigning champion Zharnel Hughes into the second position (9.99s), with Jeremiah Azu completing the podium with a time of 10.13.[45]

Statistics

European records

National records

Progression

100 m[47]
YearPerformanceVenueDate
201111.19Italy Chiari20 May
201210.68Italy Campi Bisenzio19 May
201311.19Switzerland Chiasso19 August
201410.53Italy Gavardo18 May
201610.23Italy Savona25 May
201710.82Italy Trieste30 June
201810.08Italy Savona23 May
201910.03Italy Padova16 July
202010.10Italy Trieste1 August
20219.80Japan Tokyo1 August
20229.95Germany Munich16 August

International competition

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventPerformanceNotes
2016 Mediterranean U23 Championships Tunisia Tunis 1st Long jump 7.95 m PB
European Championships Netherlands Amsterdam 11th Long jump 7.59 m
2017 European Indoor Championships Serbia Belgrade Qual. Long jump 7.70 m
2018 European Championships Germany Berlin 11th (sf) 100 m 10.28
2019 European Indoor Championships United Kingdom Glasgow Qual. Long jump NM
IAAF World Relays Japan Yokohama Final 4×100 m relay DNF
World Championships Qatar Doha 19th (sf) 100 m 10.20
10th (sf) 4×100 m relay 38.11 NR
2021 European Indoor Championships Poland Toruń 1st 60 m 6.47 WL, NR
World Relays Poland Chorzów 1st 4×100 m relay 39.21 [48]
Olympic Games Japan Tokyo 1st 100 m 9.80 AR
1st 4×100 m relay 37.50 WL, NR
2022 World Indoor Championships Serbia Belgrade 1st 60 m 6.41 WL, AR
World Championships United States Eugene N/A (sf) 100 m 10.04 DNS
European Championships Germany Munich 1st 100 m 9.95 CR, SB
2023 European Indoor Championships Turkey Istanbul 2nd 60 m 6.50
World Championships Hungary Budapest 12th (sf) 100 m 10.05 SB
2nd 4×100 m relay 37.62 SB [49]

Other meetings

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventPerformanceNotes
2021 BAUHAUS-galan Sweden Stockholm 2nd 100 m 10.05
Herculis Monaco Montecarlo 3rd 100 m 9.99
2022 ISTAF Indoor Germany Berlin 1st 60 m 6.51
2022 ORLEN Cup Poland Łódź 1st 60 m 6.49 SB
2023 ORLEN Cup Poland Łódź 1st 60 m 6.57 SB

National competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventPerformanceNotes
2016 U23 Italian Athletics Championships Italy Brixen 1st Long jump 8.48 m PB, w
Italian Athletics Championships Italy Rieti 1st Long jump 8.07 m PB*
2017 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships Italy Rieti 1st Long jump 8.06 m *
2018 Italian Athletics Championships Italy Pescara 1st 100 m 10.24 *
2019 Italian Athletics Championships Italy Brixen 1st 100 m 10.10 *
2020 International Triveneto meeting Italy Trieste 1st 100 m 10.10
Italian Athletics Championships Italy Brixen 1st 100 m 10.10 w*
2021 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships Italy Ancona 1st 60 m 6.55 *
International Savona meeting Italy Savona 1st 100 m 9.95 NR
Italian Athletics Championships Italy Rovereto 1st 100 m 10.01 CR*
2022 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships Italy Ancona 1st 60 m 6.55 *
Italian Athletics Championships Italy Rieti 1st 100 m 10.12 *
2023 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships Italy Ancona 2nd 60 m 6.55 SB*
* Denotes senior level national champion.

National titles

Jacobs won nine national championships at individual senior level.[50][51]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Marcell Jacobs Biografia". fidal.it (in Italian). Italian Athletics Federation. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Third time lucky at European Indoors, Jacobs now turns his attention to outdoor world stage". World Athletics. 6 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Marco Imarisio (1 August 2021). "'Un'estate italiana: Tamberi, Jacobs, la Nazionale di Mancini. Lo sport spinge l'Italia a fiducia e resistenza". Corriere Della Sera.
  4. ↑ Giulia Zonca (27 September 2019). "I 100 metri visti alla playstation: Tortu e Jacobs pronti al via". La Stampa.
  5. ↑ Nancy Montgomery (2 August 2021). "'Who is Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Italy's first fastest man". New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021.
  6. ↑ Kait Hanson (2 August 2021). "Olympic runner says reunion with estranged dad made him 'fastest man in world'". Today.
  7. 1 2 3 Lauren McCarthy (1 August 2021). "'World's fastest man' raised by Italian single mother who met his US soldier father at Vicenza". Stars and Stripes.
  8. ↑ "Mamma e Garda, le radici di Jacobs l'uomo che l'Italia voleva da anni" (in Italian). fidal.it. 15 May 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Lamont Marcell Jacobs biography" (in Italian). fidal.it.it. Retrieved 28 August 2017. La mamma, sposata con un texano, è tornata in Italia quando Marcell era ancora bambino.
  10. ↑ "Olympic champion Jacobs was determined to find his dad". The Washington Post. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021. ... but his parents separated when he was 6 months old.
  11. ↑ Jacobs, l'annuncio che spiazza della compagna Nicole Daza: "Il nostro futuro è negli Stati Uniti". La Stampa. 4 August 2021. Event occurs at 3m08s.
  12. ↑ "Atletica, chi è Marcell Jacobs, il nuovo recordman italiano sui 100 metri" (in Italian). tg24.sky.it. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021. Padre di tre figli, Anthony e Megan avuti dall'attuale compagna Nicole, e Jeremy da una relazione precedente all'età di 19 anni.
  13. ↑ Alberto Dolfin (14 May 2021). "Atletica:ecco chi è Lamont Marcell Jacobs, il recordman azzurro sui 100 metri" (in Italian). La Stampa.
  14. 1 2 "Olympics-Athletics-Jacobs says reconnecting with father pushed him to 100m gold". Reuters. 2 August 2021.
  15. ↑ Rebecca Falconer (2 August 2021). "Olympic sprint champ Jacobs says reconnecting with U.S. father "gave me the desire to win"".
  16. ↑ "SENIOR INDOOR 2017 - TRIPLE JUMP MEN". iaaf.org. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  17. ↑ "Atletica, Jacobs vola: 8.48 ventoso" (in Italian). gazzetta.it. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "Jacobs, an cora un lampo: 10.12 a Campi Bisenzio!" (in Italian). fidal.it.it. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "Infortunio per Marcell Jacobs" (in Italian). fidal.it. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 "Third time lucky at European Indoors, Jacobs now turns his attention to outdoor world stage". World Athletics. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  21. ↑ "Athletics - Final Results". olympics.com. 1 August 2021. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "Tokyo 2020, Marcell Jacobs è l'uomo più veloce del mondo: "Non avevo niente da perdere"". alanews (in Italian). 1 August 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  23. ↑ "100m, Jacobs centra la prima storica finale per l'Italia". olympics.com. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "Tokyo Olympics: Lamont Marcell Jacobs claims shock 100m gold". BBC Sport. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  25. ↑ "Athletics-Italian Jacobs wins men's 100m gold at Tokyo Olympics". Reuters. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  26. ↑ "100 Metres - men - senior -outdoor". World Athletics. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  27. ↑ Adam Kilgore (1 August 2021). "'In 9.80 seconds, a broad-shouldered, baldheaded Italian man born in Texas shocked the world". Washington Post.
  28. ↑ Andy Bull (1 August 2021). "Marcell Jacobs has inspiring story to share in sprinting's post-Bolt era". The Guardian.
  29. ↑ Mitch Phillips (6 August 2021). "Athletics-Relay golds cap amazing week for Italy, Jamaica". Reuters.
  30. ↑ Italy win first ever Olympic men's 4x100 metres relay title. France 24. 4 August 2021. Event occurs at 2m16s.
  31. ↑ Gerald Imray (6 August 2021). "'Four Ferraris': Italy race to shock 4x100 gold at Olympics". Associated Press.
  32. ↑ "Senior Outdoor 4x100 Metres Relay Men". World Athletics. 6 August 2021.
  33. ↑ "Olympics-Athletics: Jacobs named Italy flag bearer for closing ceremony". Reuters. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  34. ↑ Dickinson, Marley (12 August 2021). "Lamont Marcell Jacobs decides to end his season early". Running Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  35. ↑ Cooper, Sam. "The shock Olympic 100 meter champion seemed to revel in a rival sprinter's doping probe, saying it 'makes me smile'". Insider. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  36. ↑ "Sospetti infamanti su Jacobs: assolto l'ex nutrizionista che collaborò con il campione olimpico". fanpage.it (in Italian). 14 January 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  37. ↑ "Berlino, Jacobs vince i 60 metri indoor in 6"51". RaiNews (in Italian). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  38. ↑ "Jacobs vince la finale dei 60 in 6"49. Dosso record italiano: 7"19, eguagliata la Masullo". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  39. ↑ "European Athletics". www.european-athletics.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  40. ↑ "Jacobs proves Olympics was no fluke with indoor title - English". ANSA.it. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  41. ↑ "Jacobs, notte in ospedale per un virus: non correrà a Nairobi". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  42. ↑ "LIVE Atletica, Meeting Savona 2022 in DIRETTA: Marcell Jacobs vince in 10"04 (9"99 in semifinale)! Dosso avvicina il record italiano!". OA Sport (in Italian). 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  43. ↑ Sport, Sky. "Jacobs, la prima sui 100 dopo Tokyo sarà a Savona". sport.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  44. ↑ "Riecco Jacobs, il 30 giugno in pista: "Sarò a Stoccolma"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  45. ↑ "European Championships Munich 2022: Dina Asher-Smith pulls up with cramp after Lamont Marcell Jacobs won men's 100m". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  46. ↑ "Athletics - Final Results - Men's 4 x 100m Relay". IOC. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021. - Current holder
  47. ↑ "Marcell Jacobs - Progression". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  48. ↑ "Results 4 x 100 Metres Relay Men - Final" (PDF). worldathletics.org. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  49. ↑ WL in the semifinals
  50. ↑ "CAMPIONATI "ASSOLUTI" – UOMINI TUTTI I CAMPIONI – 1906-2016" (PDF). sportolimpico.it. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  51. ↑ "Dal Molin record italiano 13.27, Jacobs 10.01!" (in Italian). fidal.it. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  52. ↑ "CAMPIONATI ITALIANI ASSOLUTI INDOOR - Ancona, 26 e 27 febbraio 2022". fidal.it (in Italian). 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
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