Marcell Jacobs took his first Olympic hurdle on Saturday. © APA/afp / JEWEL SAMAD

Jacobs after 100-meter opening: “That was not good”

On Saturday, all eyes were on the fastest men in the world at the Olympic Games in Paris. They made their first appearance in the packed and atmospheric arena in Saint Denis.

August 03, 2024

From: fop

On Saturday afternoon, the preliminary heats of the 100-meter sprint were scheduled in the Paris suburb. The focus was on Italy's 2021 Olympic hero, Marcell Jacobs. The reigning sprint champion from Desenzano on Lake Garda secured his ticket for the semifinals on Sunday by finishing second in his heat in 10,05 seconds. However, he was not satisfied with that.

"To be honest, I didn't like my performance at all. It wasn't good," Jacobs said self-critically. He continued: "I felt a bit heavy in the starting phase, I didn't really let myself go. But the goal was to qualify for the semi-finals. I'll try to improve significantly there tomorrow."

The favorites hold back

In addition to Jacobs, another Azzurro, Chituru Ali (10,12 seconds), made it to the penultimate round. This will take place on Sunday at prime time at 20 p.m. The medal final, one of the big highlights of these games, will take place just under two hours later, at 21.50 p.m.

In the preliminary heats on Saturday, world champion and top favorite Noah Lyles (USA) finished second in 10,04 seconds, behind Briton Louie Hincliffe, who won in 9,98 seconds. Gold aspirant Kishane Thompson (Jamaica) won his heat in 10,00 seconds. The fastest time was recorded by the Americans Kenneth Bednarek and Fred Kerley in 9,97 seconds.

Germany's Owen Ansah (r.) clearly had to give way to US star Noah Lyles. © APA/afp / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

Germany's hopeful Owen Ansah, who was the first German to stay under the 9,99-second mark in June with a time of 10 seconds, was eliminated after a disappointing performance (10,22 seconds).