A mountain of gold, muscles, tattoos. Next step: the marriage with Nicole Daza. Who is really the fastest Italian there is

Marcell Jacobs and Nicole Daza, the marriage is one step away Photo Video

A golden boy usually mothers and fathers imagine him to be different, less inked. Marcell Jacobs is the fastest answer to the doubts of all apprehensive parents: tattoos are the most superficial layer of this athlete who, a year after having amazed the world at the Tokyo Olympic Games, gave back sprint to the Italian summer, conquering the 100-meter gold medal at the European Championships, ahead of everyone on the Munich Olympiastadion straight. By now even the British, the most critical and doubtful at the time of the Olympic glories, have learned to accept (more or less sincerely) its superiority. Jacobs confirms himself as number one even in a year that has been anything but simple. With Marcell you can never stop at appearances - Photo | video

BETWEEN STOP AND RESTART - Those impressive muscles and so defined as to emphasize the tattoos, hide an intrinsic fragility that has tormented him for years, interspersing his career. And, this season, Marcell's fragility has re-emerged, forcing him to give up the relay in Monaco as well. After a winter in which he had further downsized the American sprinters by dominating the 60m indoor world championships in Belgrade, the 27-year-old blue seemed destined for an unstoppable outdoor season. Instead of a record-breaking debut, the first exotic trip to Nairobi turned into a virus-laden ordeal that led to a brief African hospitalization. And this was only the beginning of a syncopated season and of continuous course adjustments. His coach, Paolo Camossi, would have liked to test his potential even on the 200 and begin to outline the margins for a possible double at the Paris 2024 Games. Not only have the opportunities to run the 200 jumped, but the 100 has also become a mirage , between a biceps problem and an adductor problem. Thus, while the opponents were exalted in the stages of the Diamond League, the circuit of the main international events, Marcell was forced to work in the pool and then get back on the bike under constant medical supervision. Nothing new for this champion who built the Olympic triumph and the European rebirth precisely from the desire (and the ability) to restart every time.

Marcell Jacobs, golden man of the Europeans also thanks to his partner Nicole Daza - guard

FROM LONG JUMP TO SPEED - Until five years ago with 8.48 (windy) he was considered a predestined for the long jump. However, his knees did not allow him to build a jump over 9 meters and so he decided to convert back to 100 to collect the legacy of the fastest man in the world from Usain Bolt. The experience in the long jump has not only served to accumulate pain, tears (as when in 2017 he appeared at the indoor European Championships as a favorite and was eliminated in qualifying) and frustration. Those were the years in which the relationship with Camossi was cemented, who for Marcell is much more than a coach. 'I am grateful to him for all he has given me and for what he has made me become', the blue always repeats, recalling the times when there was no team around him and Camossi, at the end of training, undressed his clothes of the coach and wore those of the masseur. To be followed by him Jacobs left Desenzano, where he grew up with his mother Viviana, and moved to train in Gorizia until the definitive move that brought both of them to Rome.

Marcell Jacobs, your workouts are impressive - video

BORN IN TEXAS BUT ... - A small change compared to what marked the childhood of the future sprinter when the story between his parents ended: for the love of an American soldier, mother Viviana had flown to El Paso and there, where Texas merges with Mexico, Marcell was born. Another of Jacobs' misleading appearances is based on this simple personal data: with that name and surname everyone thinks it is an American phenomenon that Italy has naturalized, putting a passport in his hand to grab medals. It is not so. Indeed, Marcell has to put in a lot of effort when it comes to answering interviews in English. 'As a child I used to talk to him a bit, but when I started going to kindergarten the nuns told my mother to speak to me only in Italian so as not to create confusion. And so I have always thought, spoken and felt Italian ». Marcell Jacobs - from El Paso, USA - studied English at school and pronounces it with an unmistakable Brescia cadence. Jacobs appears in one way, but then always manages to surprise: this year, after Eugene's withdrawal from the semifinals at the World Championships, it seemed impossible that Marcell could get back on track and win the European Championships in a few days. He did it by running in less than 10 seconds (9 '95) and sending a signal to the American sprinters, who believed they had recovered the sprint by monopolizing the podium of 100 and 200 at the World Championships.

TATTOOS CHALLENGE - Instead the speed is blue as in the days of Livio Berruti and Pietro Paolo Mennea. From the fast-paced Italy of the economic boom to the one that often seeks inspiration in sport. That was the way it was last summer with Wembley football triumphs and Matteo Berrettini's final at Wimbledon. Marcell Jacobs showed us that summer 2021 was not a dream, that the race continues. The next milestone will be to take back world leadership from Fred Kerley. The challenge between the two is not only on the track but also in terms of image, with tattoos. Those who have counted them say that the American has more, but even here, as in the 100, the numbers are being updated and in double digits. Kerley has the tempered soul of someone raised by an aunt, because his parents had taken the wrong path, and Fred himself had to deal with juvenile justice before getting back on track with athletics. Marcell has never had these problems (on the contrary, he is a policeman, as well as fellow champions Gianmarco Tamberi and Massimo Stano) and his tattoos do not serve to give himself an air of toughness, but to tell a path: from the past as a far-sighted (the word 'Crazy Long Jumper' around the neck) to the names of the three children (Jeremy, Anthony and Megan). To keep up with Marcell in terms of tattoos we think the partner Nicole, who also sports one on the neck helping to make them a recognizable couple in every situation. Once again, however, appearances do not say everything, because by running fast Marcell Jacobs always knows how to go further.

Source: oggi.it