Italy: Jacobs first Italian to win Men’s 100m final in Olympics

Tokyo: Lamont Marcell Jacobs has made Olympic history by becoming the first Italian to win the Men’s 100m final which was held in Tokyo Sunday.

Jacobs won the race with a time of 9.80 seconds after qualifying for the final by setting a new European record of 9.84 seconds.

The race, which featured a new generation of sprinters, was the first without three-time champion Usain Bolt since the 2004 Athens Games.

Jacobs, age 26, was viewed as a surprise contender in the race which saw American Fred Kerley take the silver medal and Canadian Andre de Grasse win bronze.

The world record for the race was set by Bolt, who retired after the 2017 world championships, with a time of 9.58 seconds.

Son of an Italian mother and a Texan father, Jacobs was born in El Paso, Texas, on 26 September 1994.

Jacobs moved to Italy as a baby, settling in Desenzano del Garda where he began practising athletics at the age of 10.

Jacobs lives in Rome with his partner Nicole and their two children Anthony and Megan, and he also has a son Jeremy from a previous relationship.

Jacobs’ victory coincided with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi sharing a rare Olympic athletics gold medal in the high jump with Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim.

Tamberi, age 29, and Barshim, 30, agreed to settle for joint gold after three failed attempts to clear the top height of 2.39 metres.

An Olympic official had offered a jump-off to decide the champion, at which point Barshim asked if they could share gold instead.