«I will not compete in the Italian championships, an appointment that I have always honored, as evidenced by my five titles (from 2018 to 2022). But we decided that the approach to the Olympics would be different. We still have a lot of work to do, I will arrive in Paris as an Olympic champion and I want to get there in the best possible conditions. I will fight to the last centimeter.” Marcell Jacobs’ decision to return to Florida, more to hug the family who joined him last October in the USA (who for bureaucratic reasons cannot leave the States before obtaining the much desired green card) and for technical choice, it is also tied to the resounding 9”92 (third career time) printed eight days ago in Turku.
Jacobs in the USA, Fidal disappointed
But the choice of the two-time Olympic champion to boycott the Italian Championships on Saturday in La Spezia has sparked the disappointment of Fidal and in particular of its president who only on the 19th had presented the tricolour event in his city with tickets sold out within 24 hours also due to the presence of the policeman from Brescia. «I knew nothing about it, no one consulted me, much less informed the technical sector – the reaction of Stefano Mei – Only on the 19th did he confirm his presence in La Spezia. That’s not really good. I will ask deputy vice president Sergio Baldo for explanations, who is also his commander at the Fiamme Oro. I’m sorry that Marcell isn’t here, but I take note of it. Although at this point I’m not even sure if the reason is to return to Florida for a while.” Also for the campus in Rieti which hosts, in addition to Jacobs, the sprinter team employed by Rana Reiderit was a bolt from the blue. The American coach, in fact, remains in the Sabine capital and Marcell’s choice seems to have been made by mutual agreement. The Italian should stay, this time in Miami, until July 1st and then rejoin his training partners in Rieti, where he should take part in a test-race on the Guidobaldi track around mid-July.
Jacobs’ program
«Jacobs, like others, just have to compete before Paris, at least a couple of outings are there», the director had said Antonio La Torre, in the aftermath of the record haul of 24 medals won at the European Championships in Rome. Evidently Marcell’s path has changed exactly one month before the start of the Games (but athletics will start on August 1st). The Diamond League circuit will start again on July 7th from Paris (the Charlety stadium program has been disrupted because it coincides with the electoral run-off), followed by the stages of Monte Carlo (July 12th) and London (July 20th). At this point it is more than likely that these will also be deserted by the blue. «Promising one thing and then doing another is really not good. We’ll have to talk about it in depth,” insists Mei. While even in federal circles there are those who accuse Fidal of being increasingly mistaken for an ATM. Meanwhile, the US arrows are preparing to land in Europe after the fearsome Olympic selections underway in Oregon. The Herculis meeting in the Principality of Monaco has announced the presence in the 200 of the triple world champion Noah Lyles, winner at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene with 9”83 in the 100. While La Spezia will also have to do without Chituru Ali (technical choice) and Filippo Tortu (family reasons).
