A blue flash. Launched into the future. It is a very promising record, that of Marcell Jacobs. 6 ”47 on 60 meters at the indoor European Championships in Torun, Poland. Gold at the European Championships, a week ago, in the specialty for an Italian athlete (it hadn’t happened since 1983 with Stefano Tilli), best time ever in the history of Italian athletics. He didn’t just win, Jacobs. He dominated with what to date is the second world performance of 2021. But who is this guy who rose to national prominence in a weekend? Unknown, for most.
But well known and highly esteemed by those who predict a future as a champion.
Shaved head, glitter on the lobes, dazzling smile, hypertrophic muscles, tattoos everywhere (only one regretted: CrazyLongJumper, which is also his account on Instagram) and a tendency to get lost and find each other, as he himself admitted, explaining that the proximity of a mental coach was decisive in this strange season.
Marcell – 26 years old – was born in El Paso, Texas. The mother is from Brescia, the father is an American marines, who at the time was stationed at the Ederle barracks, in the born base in Vicenza. He grew up in Italy, in Desenzano sul Garda: he was two years old when his mother divorced his father, left America and returned home. He is and feels Italian, in all respects. And America is just a very distant memory. “I only got muscle fibers from my dad,” he said. His maternal grandfather called him “Scooter”, because he was a hyperactive child, he never stood still. With his father, the relationship was long troubled. He saw him for the first time when he was 13, for a couple of days. “We had nothing to say to each other,” he said. Recently there has been a rapprochement and relationships have become more loving.
Marcell has a partner, Nicole. From her he had two children, Anthony and Megan. A third son – the eldest, Jeremy – was born when Marcell was only 19 years old. He lived first in Desenzano, then Gorizia, finally Rome, where he currently trains. Marcell’s sporting path was not easy. The blue was born as a long-time player, at speed he arrived a little by chance, driven by those who had seen in him talents he did not know he possessed. This is his time, the Tokyo Games are his goal.
He has two months ahead to try to turn the 6 ”47 on 60 meters into a good performance even on the 100. He starts with a personal of 10” 03 (in 2019), but he is convinced he can go under 10 seconds. Maybe even better than his friend / rival and partner in blue, the Italian record holder, Filippo Tortu (9 ”99). “With this record I made him win 100 euros – said Jacobs amused – Filippo had bet on my victory“. Together they will race in the Relay World Championships in Poland in May, a decisive stage for the qualification for Tokyo. It is a breath of fresh air for the Italian athletics who are starting to run fast again.
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