Italian Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs defended his European Championship crown in the 100 meters on Saturday, despite not having the smoothest race. The Tokyo Olympic champion posted a season’s best of 10.02 seconds to hold off some fast finishers, including a fellow countryman but had hoped to have gone a little faster on home turf in Rome.
Marcel Jacobs Retains Title, But Misses Sub-10
Still, he acknowledged that the target is to defend his title at the Paris Olympics, which is fast approaching. Jacobs emphasized that results matter most in competitions, and his goal is to be sharpest come Paris later this summer.
Read more: Lamont Marcell Jacobs finishes 2nd to training partner De Grasse in 100m at East Coast Relays
“The times are not what’s important in these competitions, it’s the result that counts,” he said. “The goal is to be in my best form in two months when it counts even more and I know that I still have a lot of work to do.”
After posting a comfortable 10.05 seconds in the semifinals the Texas-born Italian sprinter predicted his first sub-10 seconds clocking of the still. That didn’t materialize, but he knows there’s room for improvement.
“We thought a time between 9.92 and 9.95 was possible based on the semifinals,” he revealed. “So seeing 10.02 wasn’t ideal. But again, medals hold more weight than times.”
Jacobs led a 1-2 finish for Italy in the men’s 100m after his countryman Chituru Ali took the silver medal with a personal best time of 10.05. Great Britain’s Romell Glave secured bronze with a time of 10.06.
Men’s 100m Finals Results
1. Lamont Marcell Jacobs (Italy) – 10.02
2. Chituru Ali (Italy) – 10.05
3. Romell Glave (United Kingdom) – 10.06
4. Henrik Larsson (Sweden) – 10.16
5. Owen Ansah (Germany) – 10.17
6. Guillem Crespi (Spain) – 10.18
7. Simon Hansen (Denmark) – 10.19
8. Pablo Mateo (France) – 10.22
