Nassau, Bahamas (AFP) – Marcel Jacobs made the bold decision to ditch his coach, pick up a cane, and move from Italy to the United States in order to arrive in Paris this summer ready to defend his Olympic 100m title.
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Following his split with Paolo Camossi, the 29-year-old Italian has teamed up with Lana Ryder. His Florida training group also includes American Trayvon Bromell, Olympic 200m champion Andre de Grasse and Japanese sprinter Abdul Hakim Sani-Brown.
“There's been a big change since last year,” Jacobs said with understatement ahead of this weekend's participation in the World Athletics Relays in Nassau.
Jacobs was born in the United States to an Italian mother and an American father, and was raised by his father in Italy from an early age. He won two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed due to the coronavirus, and became a track and field athlete. It surprised the world.
He won the 60m world championship and the 100m European championship in 2022.
But then he suffered a series of muscle problems and lost in the semi-finals of last year's world championships in Budapest.
“I had a lot of injuries, so I decided to change everything,” he said.
“This is an Olympic year and I'm the Olympic champion, so I did everything I could to come back stronger than before.”
But Jacobs insisted that heading to Paris as the defending title holder was not a bad thing.
“No, I don't think it's pressure. It's a big motivation to get there and win again,” he said.
“I know it won’t be easy, but I will do my best to get there to make sure I win gold again in the 100m and 4x100m.
“The first month was a little tough. During training in Italy it took me an hour or an hour and a half to warm up, but after 30 minutes I had to go, go, go, go. yeah.
“There are a lot of differences. But I think I like it. I see a big difference in my body.”
Life in the United States was “very quiet,” Jacobs added.
“I'm there with my family. I'm training, home, home, training, nothing else. I'm really happy, work is really good.”
Jacobs had a strong performance in his opening race last weekend in his hometown of Jacksonville, finishing second in the 100 meters behind two-time world bronze medalist Bromell.
“That was just training. Now I'm here with the team. We're world relay champions, Olympic champions. We're really focused on the race (this weekend) and then the season. I’m going to start.”
Olympic qualification will be at stake in Nassau, with World Athletics president Sebastian Coe saying it will raise the profile of the two-day event, which will feature 893 athletes from 54 countries at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. , praised the “imminent danger.”
“They call it 'paradise to Paris', which is a really good catchphrase,” said Britain's two-time 1500m gold medalist.
“We've got a really star-studded cast. In terms of relay events, this is timeless.”
© 2024 AFP