EUGENE, Ore. — Italian Olympic champion over the 100 meters, Lamont Marcell Jacobs will look to continue his fruitful 2021 season when he lines up at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic – Diamond League meeting in Eugene on August 21.
Jacobs stunned a very strong field at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo to capture the men’s 100m gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and the organizers of this year’s Prefontaine Classic have confirmed that the European record holder will travel to Oregon to take on a host of Americans.
The 26-year-old who clocked a European record of 9.80 seconds to surprise the favorites in Tokyo, will now be targeting his first career Diamond League victory as he aims to stay in contention for a lane in the Wanda Diamond League final on September 8th and 9th.
READ MORE: Tokyo 2020: Lamont Marcell Jacobs wins men’s Olympics 100m gold
Headlining the list of Americans done to take on Jacobs is Fred Kerley, the man who finished second to the Italian in Tokyo. Kerley who stepped down from the 400m this season to concentrate on the 100m, owns a personal best of 9.84s, which he used to take the silver in Japan.
USA’s Ronnie Baker, the fifth-place finisher at Tokyo 2020, is also confirmed to the 2021 Prefontaine Classic men’s 100m and he takes a personal best of 9.83s into this high-profile showdown.
READ: Why Lamont Marcell Jacobs’ gold medal run is a win for global athletics?
Athens 2004 Olympic champion and two-time world gold medalist Justin Gatlin of the USA who failed to make the American team to Tokyo, and Cravon Gillespie who was a member of the sprint relay pool in Japan, are also set to compete at the Eugene Diamond League meeting.
Confirmed athletes for the Prefontaine Classic Men’s 100m:
Ronnie Baker
Lomont Marcell Jacobs
Cravon Gillespie
Fred Kerley
Justin Gatlin
