Athletics, Olympics 2024: Marcell Jacobs returns from obscurity to defend 100m title in Paris

Rarely has an Olympic 100 metres champion been so belittled or so maligned as Italy’s Marcell Jacobs.

The Texas-born Italian stunned the field to snatch gold in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games, in a European record of 9.80sec.

He made it double gold just days later by helping Italy to victory in the 4x100m relay, again a result that left pundits shocked and opened up a Pandora’s box of questions.

A former long jumper, Jacobs had vastly improved his 100m times that season under then-coach Paolo Camossi. Before 2020, Jacobs had never gone below the 10-second barrier and his sole title of note was European indoor 60m gold.

But after his stunning success in Tokyo, Jacobs went off the radar, pulling out of the high-profile Eugene, Brussels and Zurich Diamond League meets, citing fatigue and a knee problem.

His conspicuous absence raised eyebrows. Being the men’s Olympic 100m champion carries a kudos, attracting meet organisers and sponsors alike and to go AWOL didn’t chime well with traditionalists.

“I’m not even bothered by the gratuitous malice about doping,” the 29-year-old sprinter said in September 2021 of insinuations that his success was partly fuelled by performance-enhancing drugs.

Jacobs may have temporarily disappeared off the track scene, but he bounced back in style, claiming the world indoor 60m...

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