Marcell Jacobs reveals future after failing to defend his Olympic title

There was no miracle in the 100m final at the 2024 Olympic Games for Italy's Marcell Jacobs, who finished fifth after clocking a season's best time of 9.85 in the final.

The 100m Olympic champion in 2020 qualified for the final as one of the fastest losers, but he could not re-create his magic from Tokyo, with USA's Noah Lyles taking the gold.

According to the Olympic website, Jacobs said: "I wanted to be the one celebrating an Olympic gold, but my career doesn't end here. On the contrary. In life, you need to know how to get back up after you fall."

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Marcell Jacobs shocked the world at the 2020 Olympics by winning gold in the 100-metre sprint and the 4x100-metre race for Italy.

Jacobs, who was born in Texas to an American father and an Italian mother, specialized in the long jump until 2019, when he committed his future to the 100m. Despite just two years of practice, and never having broken the 10-second barrier previously, Jacobs broke the European record with an astonishing 9.80 second race in the 100m final, per Barron's.

Jacobs' win shocked many in the world of sprinting, with some pointing to an association with a nutritionist investigated, and eventually cleared, of distributing steroids, per reporting by The Guardian.

Others were concerned by Jacobs' decision to not cash in on his new-found fame, with the Italian deciding not to race at any subsequent events following his Olympic win. Barron's claims Jacobs cited knee issues and exhaustion as reasons why he chose to temporarily step away.

Following the Tokyo Olympics, Jacobs spoke up against suggestions of any wrongdoing, telling reporters, "I'm not even bothered by the gratuitous malice about doping".

Following his career break, Jacobs returned to form in 2022, winning both the world indoor 60m event and claiming his first European 100m title, per World Athletics, showing his Olympic performances weren't just a fluke.

Despite his various wins since Tokyo, Jacobs has never recovered the speed that drove him to Olympic glory, only running 100m under 10 seconds twice since until recently, per The Guardian.

In an interview with The Guardian in March 2024, Jacobs said, "People's criticism really hit me hard," in stark contrast to his previously dismissive tone. Jacobs claims injuries have prevented him from refinding his championship form, saying, "I wasn't competing because I wasn't able to," with a back injury preventing him from competing at the highest level.

Jacobs won another European Championship in June of this year, and claimed, "I had three goals: health, defending the European title and then the Olympic one," after the race.

Jacobs has continued to consistently get quicker in the build-up and at the Olympics, running a 9.92 in the semi-finals before his 9.85 in the final. Despite missing out on defending his Olympic title, can we expect a return to the top?

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