Sprinter Lamont Marcel Jacobs made history on Sunday. He set the European record for men’s 100-meter sprint and won the Tokyo Olympic gold medal in 9.80 seconds.
Jacobs, 26, sets the standard to The first Italian Win the game, although the reaction time is the slowest. He stopped the American Fred Kerley by 0.04 seconds.
Before he won, few sports fans had heard of him. Not only did Jacobs never win a medal in the Olympics, he also never won the 100m championship in any major competition.
“Winning the Olympics is my childhood dream. Obviously, dreams can become different things, but to participate in the finals and win the games, it is a dream come true,” he told reporters after winning.
“I want to thank my family who have always supported me, my children, and my mother who has been my number one fan since I was a child, and the team who has always followed and supported me.”
Jacobs is now forever immortal Olympic Gold medalist. Regarding this superstar sprinter, here are some things people might not know.
Jacobs was born in Texas
Although he represented Italy in the Tokyo Olympics, Jacobs was actually born in El Paso, Texas. His father is American and his mother is from Italy. In the interview Together with Corriere Della Sera, Jacobs’ mother Viviana revealed that she returned to Italy shortly after the birth of her son.
“I met Marcel’s father in Vicenza. He was a soldier in the US Army. I was 16 and he was 18. We got married and moved to Texas,” she explained.
“About three years later, Marcel was born. But 20 days later, his father was transferred to South Korea. It was impossible to follow him, so I decided to return to Italy. Marcel was less than a month old.”
Jacobs tried several sports before embarking on track and field
The mother of the Olympian also revealed that Jacobs participated in a number of sports before finding the perfect match. “Coming from a family who rides a motorcycle, I always advise against it,” she said.
“The rest, he tried everything, from swimming to basketball: I want him to discover his enthusiasm. And I have to make him tired because he can’t stand still when he falls asleep!”
In the end, a coach at the school suggested that Jacobs try track and field sports.
Jacobs began to gain attention in 2016
Although he was a relatively unknown person before the sprint Olympic Gold medal. In 2016, he won the long jump championship with a distance of 7.89 meters at the Italian Championships and received some attention.
Earlier this year, he received more attention at the European Indoor Track and Field Championships in Torun, Poland, where Jacobs won the 60-meter sprint gold medal.
He didn’t set a world record
The world record is 9.58 seconds. It was set by Jamaican Usain Bolt in 2009. He won the 100-meter sprint championship at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Photo: AFP/Jewel SAMAD
