Marcell Jacobs had just run fast enough to win a final he had not yet competed in. 10.08 in the semifinal, headwind, the last thirty meters almost walked, with that feeling of superiority that only great sprinters convey when they know they still have something left to give. A few hours later, the European gold would be awarded in 10.09. However, Jacobs could not really run that final. His body betrayed him when it seemed to have finally remembered how strong he was. This is the great contradiction of his career: a superstar power trapped inside a fragility that too often has determined his times and limits.
Read more Curtis unleashed in Paris: another stroke in history | Libero Quotidiano.it
In Birmingham, the picture was almost cruel. Jacobs had won the semifinal with 10.08 and a wind of -0.6, taking his foot off the gas in the last meters. It remained the best time of the evening: Romell Glave then won the title in 10.09, Jeremiah Azu the silver in 10.16, Owen Ansah the bronze in 10.19. Stopwatch in hand, the Jacobs who had almost recovered at the end had already run faster than the new European champion. But between one race and another, the most stubborn opponent returned: his body. During the final warm-up, trying the blocks, he felt a strong discomfort in the adductor, perhaps the same problem from a month ago. He still chose to start. After a few meters, he realized he could not push, slowed down, and finished in 12.26, seventh. Thus faded the third consecutive European gold in the 100 after Munich 2022 and Rome 2024, a hat-trick that a few hours earlier seemed possible.
SENSATIONS It is difficult to find an athlete who has won so much while at the same time giving the impression of having been able to win even more. Jacobs is Olympic champion in the 100 meters and the 4×100 in Tokyo, where he ran the European record of 9.80. He was indoor world champion in the 60 meters in 2022, with the European record of 6.41, and two-time European champion in the 100.
Read more Carlos Alcaraz, «a form of depression»: Spain enraged with Italy | Libero Quotidiano.it
In Rome, he also added the title with the relay. At Paris 2024, he ran 9.85 and finished fifth in the fastest Olympic final ever. An enormous palmarès, almost paradoxical when placed next to the stops and broken seasons that have accompanied him. 2022 remains the clearest example. At the Eugene World Championships, a problem with the large adductor forced him to withdraw from the semifinal after the heats. A few weeks later, he showed up at the Munich Europeans and won in 9.95. It has always been like this: every time his body gave him a break, Jacobs reminded the world what his level was. That is why Birmingham hurts more than a defeat and not because the gold was already his, in sprinting nothing is written, but because the semifinal had brought back the best Jacobs: powerful, relaxed, master of his own speed. But then the script repeated itself. The engine was there; once again, the possibility to carry it intact to the end was missing. Beyond that finish line, beyond 100 meters. At 31, Jacobs no longer has to prove anything. Tokyo gave him a place in the history of Italian sport that no injury can erase. However, there remains an inevitable question: how much could he have won if his body had allowed him continuity? Birmingham did not provide an answer, making that question even more painful. The certain thing is that Marcell still deserves the level of the best. That is not little.
Read more Rafa Leao, the cryptic message on social media: «No one is authorized» | Libero Quotidiano.it
