European Athletics Championships 2024: Marcell Jacobs crowned men's 100m champion
Athletics
Marcell Jacobs surged to the men's 100m title in Rome on Saturday (June 8) evening in front of a jubilant home crowd at the European Athletics Championships.
The reigning Olympic champion successfully defended the European title he first won in 2022 in Munich with a season-best 10.02 sprint to finish ahead of his compatriot Chituru Ali (10.05), with Briton Romell Glave (10.06) earning bronze.
Gold medalist, Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Team Italy, crosses the finish line to win in the Men's 100 Metres Final on day two of the 26th European Athletics Championships - Rome 2024 at Stadio Olimpico on June 08, 2024 in Rome, Italy.
Jacobs, who picked up two gold medals three years ago at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021 (100m & 4x100m relay), was slightly slow off the blocks but demonstrated his trademark power in the final third of the race to win and cement his status as a gold-medal favourite for the 100m at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on August 4.
"I have three goals for the season," Jacobs said after the race. "Health, defending the European title and then the Olympic one.
In the final I felt a cramp on the right calf but I went on," he added. "I gritted my teeth because I wanted to win [in front] of this amazing audience.
"I thought I could run 9.95. I didn't manage it but the important thing was to win. I am very happy because everything is getting better race after race. I made a big bet on myself because I came to Rome not in the best shape, but I won and it was one of my goals of the season.
"We are on the right track for sure."
Jacobs' teammate Ali secured the first major international medal of his career with silver, recovering well after being shown a yellow card for causing a false start.
Glove, 24, was making his senior championship debut in Rome, and was just edged out of second place by one one-hundredth of a second.
Though Italy's men's 4x100m for the Championships is yet to be announced, expect both Jacobs and Ali to be part of gli Azzurri's quartet when the event begins on Tuesday (June 11).
European Athletics Championships Men's 100m final - full results
1. Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA) 10.02🥇SB
2. Chituru Ali (ITA) 10.05🥈PB
3. Romell Glave (GBR) 10.06 🥉
4. Henrik Larsson (SWE) 10.16
5. Owen Ansah (GER) 10.17
6. Guillem Crespi (ESP) 10.18 PB
7. Simon Hansen (DEN) 10.19 PB
8. Pablo Mateo (FRA) 10.22