Usain Bolt would not recognise what went down connected the Olympic way helium utilized to own.
On the nighttime of the 100-metre golden medal contention that erstwhile belonged to the Jamaican superstar, a Texas-born Italian with a deeper past successful agelong jumping than outdoor sprints won the contention that has agelong defined Olympic royalty.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Marcell Jacobs is The World's Fastest Man.
OLYMPICS LIVE BLOG: DAY 9 UPDATES, NEWS | TOKYO GAMES EVENT CENTRE: SCHEDULE, RESULTS, MEDAL TALLY
The Italian crossed the enactment successful 9.8 seconds Sunday night, the archetypal medal ever for the state successful the 100 metres. Pietro Mennea won the 200 successful 1980 and Livio Berruti won that contention astatine the 1960 Games successful Rome.
Even successful a contention with nary wide favourites — American Ronnie Baker was a campaigner and China's Su Bingtain ran a shocking 9.83 successful the semis — Jacobs was a surprise.
Jacobs topped America's Fred Kerley and Canada's Andre DeGrasse to instrumentality the spot Bolt had commandeered since 2008.
"I truly don't cognize thing astir him," Kerley said of the caller golden medallist. "He did a fantastic job."
Jacobs' triumph came lone moments aft his countryman, Gianmarco Tamberi, tied Qatari precocious jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim for golden successful the precocious jump.
Tamberi, writhing connected the ground, kicking his feet up successful jubilation aft his brainsick win, was a antheral successful request of idiosyncratic to hug.
He recovered him erstwhile Jacobs, of each people, crossed the enactment first, and celebrated by jumping into the broad-chested sprinter's arms and curling his ain limb astir Jacobs' bald head.
The Jacobs triumph came aboriginal and near everyone extracurricular Italy – and possibly immoderate successful the country, arsenic good – letting retired a corporate "Who?"
He was calved successful El Paso, Texas – the lad of an American begetter and an Italian mother. He moved to Italy arsenic a young lad erstwhile the U.S. subject transferred his dada to South Korea. He was a long-jump specializer for years, and his biggest large moving occurrence came successful an indoor 60-metre rubric astatine European champions earlier this year.
His idiosyncratic champion was an Italian record, 9.95 seconds, acceptable successful May. It was the archetypal clip he'd breached 10 seconds.
Now, he's connected the database with Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Bolt — an Olympic 100-metre champion.
His way was made that overmuch easier erstwhile American Trayvon Bromell, who came into Tokyo with the world's starring clip and arsenic the odds-on favorite, didn't adjacent marque the final.
Bromell ran his semifinal vigor successful 9.996 seconds to decorativeness third, and said "I'm not truly definite what I could've done better, but the contention went the mode the contention went."
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