Italy's double Olympic sprint
champion Marcell Jacobs made history Tuesday night by becoming
only the fourth man to become Olympic and European 100m champion
at the same time.
At the Olympiastadion in Munich, the 27-year-old El Paso born
Italian beat two British sprinters, Zharnel Hughes and Jeremiah
Azu, into second and third place respectively.
He equalled the European championship record in a time of 9.85
seconds, behind the 9.80 he notched in the Tokyo 2020 final last
year but about the same speed as he recorded in winning the
indoor worlds 60m in March.
Before Jacobs the only men to hold both the Olympic and European
crowns at the same time were Armin Hary (Stockholm 1958 and Roma
1960), Valeriy Borzov (Munich 1972 and Rome 1974), and Linford
Christie (Barcelona 1992 and Helsinki 1994).
He is the first Italian to win the Euro 100m after the legendary
Pietro Mennea in 1978.
Jacobs, who had to miss last month's worlds in Eugene with the
umpteenth niggle in an injury-dogged season said: "thank you to
those who rooted for me.
"It has been a complicated, difficult season.
"Bringing home the gold is a buzz and gives me confidence for
the future."
He added, on his Instagram account: "See you soon!!"
In Tokyo last year Jacobs got his second gold in the 4x100m
relay.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
