Born in Texas to an Italian mother, Jacobs has succeeded Usain Bolt as the ‘World’s Fastest Man’.

When successors to Usain Bolt  as Olympic 100m champion were being assessed, very few would have considered Italy’s Marcell Jacobs.

But he upset the odds to scorch to victory in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium, winning in a new European record of 9.80.

Five minutes earlier, his Italian team-mate Gianmarco Tamberi shared high jump gold with Mutaz Essa Barshim.

And then in the most prestigious event of them all, Jacobs beat a star-studded field to end 25 years of dominance by sprinters from the Americas.

Jacobs is the first European to win the Olympic 100m title since Britain’s Linford Christie at Barcelona 1992, and Italy’s first Olympic sprint champion since Pietro Mennea took the 200m at Moscow 1980.

Read on to find out five facts about the man who can now proudly carry the tag of ‘World’s Fastest Man’.

Born in the USA, but definitely Italian

Lamont Marcell Jacobs was born on 26 September 1994 in El Paso, Texas to an Italian mother and American father.

His mother Viviana told Corrierra Delta Sera. “I met Marcell’s father in Vicenza. He was a soldier in the US Army. I was 16 and he was 18. We got married and moved to Texas.

“After about three years, Marcell was born. But 20 days later, his father was transferred to South Korea. It was impossible to follow him, so I decided to go back to Italy. Marcell wasn’t even a month old.”

Jacobs has spoken about going to the United States to meet his father, but admits his English is not very good.

Young Marcell tried a number of sports before he eventually settled on athletics.

His mother continued, “Coming from a family of motorcyclists, I always advised against that choice. For the rest he tried everything, from swimming to basketball: I wanted him to discover his passion. Plus I had to make him tired, because he did not stand still even while he slept!”

Jacobs recalled to Corrierra Delta Sera  the words of his school coach, “Since I wasn’t particularly skilled at football, but I was fast he told me: ‘Why don’t you try another sport like athletics?’”

A sprinter and long jumper

The young Jacobs made his first impression in athletics at national level in the long jump.

At the 2016 Italian Championships, he took victory with a distance of 7.89m, with his personal best 7.95m although he also jumped 8.48m with a +2.8m/s following wind that year.

But he made real strides on the track in 2018, claiming his first national 100m title and going close to the magic 10-second barrier.

During the Covid lockdown of 2020, he trained at a house close to Lake Gardia  with a mini-athletics arena including a 90m track and long jump pit.

Those sessions paid off as he made an impact right at the start of the 2021 season.

Jacobs announces himself at European Indoors

Jacobs was far from a household name at the start of 2021, but he soon put a change to that.

At March’s European Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, he produced a power packed display to take men’s 60m gold  in 6.47, the fastest time in the world this year and a new Italian record.

And in his first outdoor meeting of the year in Savona, he set a new Italian 100m record of 9.95 seconds.

After that, he told Corriera Delta Sera, “I am going to Tokyo to win a medal. Bolt is not there, Coleman is not there, there’s not a clear favourite, it’ll be a battle. I can’t stop dreaming now…”

What do Jacobs’ tattoos mean?

Scaling 1.88m and weighing over 80kg, Jacobs is one of the bigger sprinters of the circuit.

But perhaps more striking at the number of tattoos the Italian has, which are clearly visible around his race vest.

He calls the tattoos a representation of his “America” side, with one reading, “Famiglia. Dove nasce la vita e l’amore non ha mai fine,” which translates as “Family. Where life is born and love never ends.”

On his chest he has a rose and, in Italian, the famous Charlie Chaplin quote “What is really good is to fight with determination, embrace life and live it with passion! Lose your battles with class and dare to win because the world belongs to those who dare.”

Also on his body are the names of his children and his partner Meghan on his right bicep.

On his back is a tiger representing “strength, passion and beauty” and on his arm is a cross with the word ‘Believe’.

Just below his neck he has the words ‘CrazyLongJumper’ which is also his nickname on Social Media.

Jacobs looked up to Carl Lewis and Andrew Howe

Breaking the Italian record was Jacobs’ first objective of 2021, but the second was to fulfil a long-held ambition of competing at the Olympic Games.

He told Corriera Delta Sera “From the first time I stepped on the track aged nine, I dreamt of the Olympics. On my bedroom wall I had the newspaper page of the famous Carl Lewis commercial with him wearing stiletto heels in the starting blocks.

“But my idol as a child was Andrew Howe who, like me is mixed race and half-American. I could identify with him.”

Howe, born in Los Angeles, won the European jump title for Italy in 2006 and took world silver the following year.

Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead has been extended to eight points after the correction of an error in the results of the Hungarian Grand Prix

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was listed as second in the “final” results Sunday night despite being disqualified for a fuel infringement

A note said it was provisional pending an appeal by Aston Martin.

The results have been re-issued with Vettel disqualified and Hamilton second.

An appeal by Aston Martin may still happen.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz moves up to the final podium place in third, and everyone behind him also moves up one position, making Briton George Russell eighth for Williams and elevating Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen to the final points place in 10th.

The reshuffle moves Hamilton’s title rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, up from 10th to ninth, but with the extra points the Mercedes driver gets for the move from third to second, Hamilton gains a net two points on Verstappen.

Issuing the final results with a disqualified driver in the place he finished in went against all precedent for governing body the FIA, and the organisation has now corrected the record.

Aston Martin have indicated their intention to appeal against Vettel’s disqualification but have not yet confirmed whether they will go ahead with it.

Vettel was disqualified because officials were unable to take the mandatory one-litre sample of fuel from the car after the race.

The FIA said it was possible to pump out only 0.3 litres from the car and that it was no defence to claim no performance advantage was obtained.

F1 rules dictate that teams must ensure that a one-litre sample of fuel can be taken from the car at any time during the event.

Running less fuel can give a performance advantage as each 1kg of fuel weight equates to about 0.035secs a lap on an average circuit. Fuel usage is also restricted under F1’s engine formula, which is designed to reward efficiency.

Hungarian Grand Prix stewards said: “The team was given several opportunities to attempt to remove the required amount of fuel from the tank, however it was only possible to pump 0.3 litres out.”

The stewards added that team principal Otmar Szafnauer and technical director Andrew Green said that there must be 1.44 litres left in the car, but they were unable to extract it.

The United States claimed their seventh Concacaf Gold Cup title on Sunday night (Aug 1) with a thrilling 1-0 extra time win over defending champions Mexico in Las Vegas.

Miles Robinson headed in the winner, soaring over Mexican defender Edison Alvarez deep into the extra time and bouncing it past goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera to set off a wild celebration at the Allegiant Stadium.

“I am happy we got the win,” said Robinson. “Just awesome, crazy emotions. I knew if I could get open and get a half step then I could finish it.”

Matt Turner was also superb in goal for the upstart Americans, who finished undefeated in the biennial North American showcase tournament.

This was the American team’s first Gold Cup title since 2017, and avenged their defeat to Mexico in the 2019 final.

The US have now defeated Mexico in back-to-back tournaments for the first time. They also beat Mexico in extra time in the Concacaf Nations League final in June.

The game was played in Las Vegas but it might as well have been Mexico City, with the flag-waving, sold-out crowd of over 60,000 a sea of Mexican supporters in green and red.

It was a familiar scene for the American team, used to being treated like a visiting team on home soil whenever they play Mexico.

Seeking their ninth Gold Cup win, Mexico controlled the first half but the US fought back after the break, carrying their momentum into extra time.

Robinson scored the winner in the 118th minute after teammate Kellyn Acosta sent a deep free kick into the 18 yard box.

The USA made the final thanks to Turner’s heroics, despite fielding one of their youngest lineups ever in a Gold Cup.

Both Turner and Talavera made huge saves Sunday, to keep it scoreless through regulation.

Turner, who plays for the New England Revolution of the MLS, started every game and posted five shutouts.

He is hoping his performance in the Gold Cup will earn him a spot on the national team for World Cup qualifying.

Turner was frequently tested in Sunday’s game, especially in the first half, when he kept his team in the contest. One of his best saves came in the 30th minute, when he stopped Mexico’s Rogelio Funes Mori from close range.

Funes Mori headed the ball to himself to get behind the US defence, but he couldn’t beat Turner in tight.

Turner, who was named Best Goalkeeper of the event, also made a brilliant save on a Funes Mori header off a corner kick in the 11th minute, diving to keep the ball out of the net.

Mexico came out flying to start the second half and had a trio of chances in the first seven minutes but were unable to find the target.

That’s when the US started to create some quality chances that were missing in the first half for them.

Talavera’s best save came in the 74th minute when American Paul Arriola won a footrace to a loose ball but couldn’t beat the Mexican keeper, who somehow managed to block it with his upper body.

Harry Kane, a transfer target for Manchester City, has not returned to the Tottenham training ground as expected on Monday morning amid speculation over his future.

The striker was scheduled to have coronavirus testing on Monday before starting training on Tuesday.

Kane has had a three-week break after helping England reach the Euro 2020 final.

Spurs have offered no explanation for why the 28-year-old did not turn up.

It is understood Kane felt he had a gentteman’s agreement with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that he could leave the club this summer.

A pre-Euro 2020 move did not materialise as he hoped, but Manchester City remain keen on signing the England captain.

Kane’s international’s team-mate Jack Grealish is also a target for City, who have a made a 100 m pounds bid for the Aston Villa midfielder, and he turned up for pre-seaspn training with the Midlands club on Monday.

Kane’s contract with Spurs runs until 2024 after he signed a six-year deal in 2018.

He scored 23 top-flight goals last season to claim the Premier League golden boot for a third time, having previously won the award in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

He also has 221 Tottenham goals to his name, which puts him second in their all-time goalscorers’ list behind Jimmy Greaves, who scored 266 times for the club between 1961 and 1970.

Spurs play Chelsea and Arsenal in high-profile friendlies this week and new manager Nuno Espirito Santo has already spoken optimistically about the prospect of working with Kane.

Speaking at his first news conference after being appointed as manager, Nuno said last week. “Harry is our player. Period. No need to talk about anything else, I am looking forward to him joining the group.

“Harry is one of the best players in the world. That is all I need to say.”

Analysis – winning trophies is the attraction for Kane

Without official clarification over why Harry Kane failed to turn up, there is room for misinterpretation. Did Kane have an agreement from his club to stay away or was it his own doing?

However, given he was expected to be at Tottenham for COVID testing and there has been no legitimate reason put forward for why he wasn’t, it seems clear Kane wants out of Tottenham – and he wants in at Manchester City.

City won trophies last season – Premier League and Carabao Cup – which is the attraction for Kane. He supplies guaranteed goals as a number nine, which is the attraction for City.

Evidently, the fee is not a problem. Neither are the wages. City have operated well within Financial Fair Play limits for some time now. And while Sergio Aguero had been reduced to a peripheral figure in Pep Guardiola’s squad by the end of last season, he remained one of their highest earners.

In addition, it is expected at least one senior squad member – probably Bernardo Silva – will leave this summer if, as seems highly likely, Kane and Jack Grealish arrive.

The big unknown is the thoughts of Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.

Of all Premier League executives, he is the least obvious candidate to cave in to player power.

But Levy did say in June that Tottenham had to be ‘sensible’ in the transfer market this summer.

They have already spent £20m on one player, are set for another near £50m outlay on another in Atalanta defender Cristian Romero, and have been strongly linked with Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic, even though the 21-year-old Serbian striker would also cost over £40m.

Is that the kind of sensible spending Levy was talking about – or is it getting new arrivals in ahead of a significant departure?

Without clarification on his absence, it is impossible to know for certain, but the debate around Kane will only get louder for the fact he is not there.

Blessing Oborodudu’s feat of qualifying for the final of the  68 kg female wrestling  event of the 2020 Olympic  has been  described  as a blessing to Nigeria.

Minister  of Youth and sports Development Mr Sunday said ” You are a Blessing to  Nigeria and Nigeria’s Athletics family.Team Nigeria is proud of you. Nigerians are proud of you

The display is typical  of the never say die Nigerian spirit. Keep the tempo going until we reach the ultimate  which is the gold.

Blessing becomes Nigeria’s first medallist in Wrestling. Her qualification for the finals  guarantees a  gold medal or silver.

Odunayo Adekuoroye , Ese Brume and are still in the running for medals.

Oborodudu defeated Azerbaijan’s  Elis Manolova  and  Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan to advance to her first Olympic finals.