Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs claimed a stunning victory to take the Olympic 100m title.
The Texas-born sprinter clocked 9.80 seconds in Tokyo on Sunday to finish ahead of the USA’s Fred Kerley and Canada’s Andre De Grasse.
Jacobs became the first man to win the 100m other than Usain Bolt since Justin Gatlin in 2004.
American Fred Kerley took silver in a personal best 9.84 with Canada's Andre de Grasse repeating his bronze of 2016 in 9.89.
Jacobs had fired a warning with a European record of 9.84 in the semi-finals to become the first Italian ever to make the final but in the most wide-open showdown for decades, he still seemed an outsider.
#atletica IL RE DELL'UNIVERSO ⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
💥 Marcell Jacobs campione olimpico dei 100 metri. La gara dei sogni. Con 9.80. La gara simbolo delle Olimpiadi #Tokyo2020 ph. @WorldAthletics @Coninews @ItaliaTeam_it pic.twitter.com/Ek3bvXtgc6Advertisement— Atletica Italiana (@atleticaitalia) August 1, 2021
Kerley, hoping to be the first American winner since Justin Gatlin in 2004, ran brilliantly for second, with De Grasse finishing fast in another lifetime best.
Su Bingtian won his semi-final in an Asian record 9.83 but was never in the mix and finished sixth.
Zharnel Hughes from GB, was disqualified for a massive false start and was forced to watch from the sidelines.
Yohan Blake missed out on the final and, with no Bolt, there were no Jamaicans in the last eight for the first time since Sydney 2000.
The 31-year-old, the joint second fastest man in the world, then insisted it would be his last Games.
“It’s definitely my last Olympics. You know track is not easy. I won’t be ungrateful. I’ve gained a lot,” he said.
Additional reporting from Reuters
