Marcell Jacobs: “Times don’t matter. What counts is the medal”

The Olympic and European 100m champion hopes to retain both of his gold medals this summer

Marcell Jacobs believes that what ultimately counts is the medal around your neck.

The 29-year-old Italian is the Olympic and European 100m champion and, over the next few months, could win them both again.

It’s a unique opportunity. Jacobs will defend his European sprints title in front of a home crowd at the Stadio Olimpico. Unsurprisingly the Italian is the poster boy of the championships and his face is seen on the advertising for it across Rome.

Then, in August, Jacobs will aim to become a double Olympic 100m champion in consecutive Games. If he claimed gold, the Italian would be the third person in history after Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt to achieve the feat.

Some argue he already re-wrote the record books three years ago.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Jacobs became the first ever Italian to win the 100m at the Games and was also part of the quartet that struck gold in the 4x100m relay. Safe to say, his world changed overnight. He’d claimed a world indoor 60m title and broke the Italian 100m record that season but becoming Olympic champion in two events created another level of exposure for the sprinter. His life was studied more intensely.

Subsequently, Jacobs’ association with nutritionist Giacomo Spazzini, who was implicated in a police investigation into the distribution of steroids, created difficult questions. Spazzini was cleared in a criminal court but reportedly handed a 15-year doping ban that was later rescinded on appeal. Jacobs was never suspected of wrongdoing.

Jacobs tells AW that criticism at first “did bother me and I let it bother me” but now the Italian “knows what I’ve done to get where I am.”

Three years on and ahead of a home European Championships, Jacobs is training out in Rieti. The stadium has hosted eight world records and has recently enjoyed a track upgrade with the installation of a new CONIPUR Vmax surface.

Jacobs, now being coached by Rana Reider, is training alongside the likes of Andre De Grasse, Trayvon Bromell and Nia Ali, to name a few.

With Zharnel Hughes pulling out of the championships, Jacobs – after a season’s best of 10.03 at the Oslo Diamond League – will go into it as one of the favourites. It would be mean a lot to him to retain his crown in Italy.

The last time Jacobs ran a sub-10 100m was the 9.95 that took him to European glory at Munich 2022. When the pressure is on he…