Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs set a new European record as he guaranteed a shock victory in the men’s 100m at the Tokyo Olympics.
Jacobs’ triumphant season of 9.80 seconds on Sunday saw him finish 0.04 seconds in front of the USA’s Fred Kerley in second and 0.09 seconds in front of Canada’s Andre De Grasse in third.
It capped a glorious few minutes of moments for Italy at the Olympic Stadium with Jacobs’ triumph coming soon after Gianmarco Tamberi’s gold award in the high jump.
The two men embraced as Jacobs – the primary Italian man to win 100m gold at the Olympics and the main European man to do as such since Great Britain’s Linford Christie in 1992 – surged across the finish line.
“It was my childhood dream to win an Olympic Games, and obviously, a dream can turn into something different, but to run this final and win it is a dream come true,” said 26-year-old Jacobs.
“I want to thank my family that has always supported me, my children, and my mom, who has been my number one fan since I was a child, and my team who have followed me and those who support me.”
On a hot, sticky evening in Tokyo where the temperature floated around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), the race got in progress in cheeky conditions when GB’s Zharnel Hughes was excluded for a bogus beginning.
It end up being a stroke of luck for Jacobs, who had the slowest response break of the squares – the greater part a second – during the first beginning.
Jacobs, Kerley, and De Grasse all ran individual outclasses in the last, with De Grasse adding another bronze award to the one he succeeded at the Rio Olympics five years prior.
In the primary men’s 100m last since three-time champion Usain Bolt resigned from games, Jacobs – whose triumphant time was 0.01 seconds quicker than Bolt’s in Rio – was an improbable replacement to the Jamaican. He had been contending in the long leap until as of late as 2017 preceding exchanging his concentrate exclusively to running.
“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).”
Kerley had completed third at the US Olympic trials in June behind Trayvon Bromell – charged as the top pick to win the 100m title in front of the Olympics – and Ronnie Baker. Be that as it may, Bromell couldn’t fit the bill for the last in Tokyo and Baker completed fifth behind South Africa’s Akani Simbine.
“I executed the race perfectly and I came up with a silver medal. I can’t complain,” said Kerley.
“The race was a beautiful race. I got a PB (personal best) and a silver medal. I am blessed to be at the biggest stage of my career.”
On an occurrence filled evening in Tokyo, Tamberi shared the men’s high leap gold award with Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim. The two men had identical records in the wake of clearing 2.37 meters in the final, yet nor had the option to clear 2.39.
Quickly before that, Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas smashed the ladies’ triple jump world record by 17 centimeters, fixing the gold decoration with a distance of 15.67 meters.