Marcell Jacobs
September 26, 1994
84 kg
1,86 cm
Italy
September 26, 1994
84 kg
1,86 cm
Italy
Marcell Jacobs: the jaguar of Italian Athletics.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs was born in El Paso on September 26, 1994. He is 1.86 centimeters tall and weighs 84 kilograms.
A U.S.-born Italian athlete, his specialties are sprinting and long jump.
Jacobs made Italian and international athletics history in 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, by winning the gold medal in the sport’s signature event: the 100-meter dash, also setting the European record with 9.80. In addition, also in Tokyo, he also won the gold medal with the 4×100 relay.
The beginning of a promising career
Jacobs began competing at the youth level in Italy at the age of 11, immediately showing exceptional talent for sprinting, and only starting in 2011 did he try his hand at the long jump as well.
In 2015 he surpassed eight meters for the first time in the long (8.03) during the Italian indoor championships qualifiers, then came the stop of almost a year due to a left hamstring quadriceps injury.
It was in 2018, after an 8.48 (windy) in the long and after several injuries, that Marcell decided to focus more on speed.
On May 23, 2018 he runs at the Savona meeting: in the battery Jacobs sets a time of 10.04 (windy), in the final instead he stops the clock at 10.08, the fourth fastest time ever in Italy.
On March 6, 2021, he won the gold medal in the 60-meter flat at the European Indoor Championships in Toruń with a time of 6.47, a new Italian record and the best world seasonal performance. While on May 13 of the same year he runs at the Savona meeting, setting a new Italian record in the 100-meter flat in the battery with a time of 9.95, becoming the second Italian, after Filippo Tortu, to break the 10-second barrier.
Jacobs’ preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been a long and challenging journey. He has worked hard, constantly improving his performance and honing his skills.
At the Tokyo Olympic Games, in the 100-meter flat battery, he set a new Italian record with a time of 9″94, and in the semifinals he improved it further, running 9.84, qualifying for the final – as the first Italian in the history of the Olympic Games – and setting a new European record.
In the final he realized a dream: he set the stopwatch at 9.80, one hundredth better than legend Usain Bolt’s last Olympic victory. Only a few days pass and he also competes in the 4×100 relay, where Italy achieves an epic feat: together with Lorenzo Patta, Fausto Desalu and Filippo Tortu, he achieves his second Olympic gold.
The last two years after the Olympic victory have been very unfortunate for Marcell Jacobs, who has had to deal with a long series of injuries that have impaired his performance. Despite this, he won world indoor gold in the 60 with a European record of 6.41 and won the European Championships in Munich in the 100.
Curiosity about Marcell Jacobs
Passion for sports: before turning to athletics, Marcell played both basketball and soccer. In general, Jacobs loves all sports, especially those that have to do with speed-in fact, he is also a big fan of Formula 1. He waved the checkered flag at the 2021 Monza GP and, in general, he does not miss a race, wherever he is at the time.
A difficult choice: Perhaps not everyone knows that before becoming the fastest man in the world, Jacobs preferred the long jump, but a hamstring problem in 2017 held him back in that discipline, leading him to focus primarily on sprinting.
Diet: Jacobs is very careful about nutrition, so much so that he keeps the diet sheet hanging in his closet.
Marcell Jacobs: the jaguar of Italian Athletics.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs was born in El Paso on September 26, 1994. He is 1.86 centimeters tall and weighs 84 kilograms. A U.S.-born Italian athlete, his specialties are sprinting and long jump.
Jacobs made Italian and international athletics history in 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, by winning the gold medal in the sport’s signature event: the 100-meter dash, also setting the European record with 9.80 seconds. In addition, also in Tokyo, he also won the gold medal with the 4×100 relay.
The beginning of a promising career
Jacobs began competing at the youth level in Italy at the age of 11, immediately showing exceptional talent for sprinting, and only starting in 2011 did he try his hand at the long jump as well.
In 2015 he surpassed eight meters for the first time in the long (8.03) during the Italian indoor championships qualifiers, then came the stop of almost a year due to a left hamstring quadriceps injury.
It was in 2018, after a windy 8.48 in the long and after several injuries, that Marcell decided to focus more on speed.
On May 23, 2018 he runs at the Savona meeting: in the battery Jacobs sets a time of 10″04 (windy), in the final instead he stops the clock at 10″08, the fourth fastest time ever in Italy.
On March 6, 2021, he won the gold medal in the 60-meter flat at the European Indoor Championships in ToruÅ„ with a time of 6″47, a new Italian record and the best world seasonal performance. While on May 13 of the same year he runs at the Savona meeting, setting a new Italian record in the 100-meter flat in the battery with a time of 9″95, becoming the second Italian, after Filippo Tortu, to break the 10-second barrier.
Jacobs’ preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been a long and challenging journey. He has worked hard, constantly improving his performance and honing his skills.
At the Tokyo Olympic Games, in the 100-meter flat battery, he set a new Italian record with a time of 9″94, and in the semifinals he improved it further, running 9″84, qualifying for the final – as the first Italian in the history of the Olympic Games – and setting a new European record.
In the final he realized a dream: he set the stopwatch at 9”80, one hundredth better than legend Usain Bolt’s last Olympic victory. Only a few days pass and he also competes in the 4×100 relay, where Italy achieves an epic feat: together with Lorenzo Patta, Fausto Desalu and Filippo Tortu, he achieves his second Olympic gold.
The last two years after the Olympic victory have been very unfortunate for Marcell Jacobs, who has had to deal with a long series of injuries that have impaired his performance. Despite this, he won world indoor gold in the 60 with a European record of 6″41 and won the European Championships in Munich in the 100.
Curiosity about Marcell Jacobs
Passion for sports: before turning to athletics, Marcell played both basketball and soccer. In general, Jacobs loves all sports, especially those that have to do with speed-in fact, he is also a big fan of Formula 1. He waved the checkered flag at the 2021 Monza GP and, in general, he does not miss a race, wherever he is at the time.
A difficult choice: Perhaps not everyone knows that before becoming the fastest man in the world, Jacobs preferred the long jump, but a hamstring problem in 2017 held him back in that discipline, leading him to focus primarily on sprinting.
Diet: Jacobs is very careful about nutrition, so much so that he keeps the diet sheet hanging in his closet.