Italy’s double Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs on Friday marked his return to action for the first time since his shock win in Tokyo last year with victory in the 60m at an ISTAF outdoor event in Berlin.
Jacobs took time out from the sport since winning gold in the 100m and 4x100m in Tokyo, missing the five Diamond League events that followed his Olympic triumph, including the two-day finale in Zurich, Switzerland.
He showed no sign of rust in the German capital, winning his heat with ease, before going even faster in the final, crossing the line first in 6.51 seconds ahead of Ivorian Arthur Cisse and France’s Jimmy Vicaut.
Photo: Reuters
“Objective complete,” Jacobs said. “I wanted to do a time close to 6.50. Before the heats I had a bit of tension, then it passed and now my goal in this first part of the season, the indoor one, is to improve the European record over 60m.”
“Then I will try to honor the title I have earned in every race. I’m back, and I’m the same as always,” he added.
The former long jumper’s stunning win and rapid improvement — he broke the 10-second barrier for the first time three months before the Tokyo Games — led to some media reports highlighting past doping cases involving breakout athletics stars, but Jacobs said his success was purely down to his efforts.
Jacobs told the Daily Telegraph newspaper last week that he never has and never will take performance-enhancing drugs, while the Italian explained that he ended his season last year early because of exhaustion.
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