Marcell Jacobs tonight in France: 100 meters and 60 meters

From our correspondent Andrea Buongiovanni

February 17
– LIEVIN (France)

In Lievin, in Alta (very high) France, on the road to Calais, it rains and blows. But inside the Arena Stade Couvert, the world mecca of athletics in the hall, the equivalent of the Letzigrund in Zurich for the outdoor one, you feel like a pasha. After hosting the 1987 European Championships, it has become the site of a meeting that has given eight world records over the years. Even Marcell Jacobs (or rather, Jacòbs, as they call him in these parts), is at ease inside. He always is, let alone here, where he returns for the third consecutive year. Tonight Paolo Camossi’s pupil – announced a full house with 6500 spectators – will be among the most anticipated protagonists of the fourth Gold stage of the World Indoor Tour 2022. If not the most awaited. They put him on the poster of the event together with the Norwegian middle-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen and two Americans, the hurdler Grant Holloway and the athlete Katie Nageotte, Olympic medalists like him. And in the late afternoon yesterday, after a surprise doping control and before the usual finishing trip, in a small room of the stadium – on the coffee and croissant table – they made him meet with the local press.

The words

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Marcell does not know French and does not yet trust his English very much (“In reality – he jokes – I am in favor of the uniqueness of the Italian language”). With the manager Marcello Magnani acting as his interpreter, he did not escape a barrage of questions. “I like this meeting and it brings me luck – he says – so much so that, in order not to break my habits and to live it to the full, I preferred to go back to the university dormitory surrounding the facility rather than go to the hotel. I’m repeating the races of last season, it’s true. But not for a matter of superstition: simply because such a proposed calendar satisfies my technical and programming needs. Then, here, it goes fast: I have participated twice and twice I have been personal on 60: 6 “63 in 2020, 6” 54 in 2021 “. There will be plenty of reasons to do better tonight after last Thursday’s 6 ”49 in Lodz. Meanwhile, the opponents are very respectable. Starting with the American Ronnie Baker, one who boasts a 6 ”40, eleven times under 6” 50 and who, at the Tokyo Games, in the 100 won by the policeman, was fifth. Together with him the compatriots Marvin Bracy and Mike Rodgers, the Ivorian Arthur Cissè, the Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala and the French Jimmy Vicaut (who is already in the first round). Then, if the stimulus of his rivals were not enough, he will be able to pull both the heat and the final hard: between the two commitments (at 20 and at 21.30), he will spend sufficient time. In short: imagining that Marcell can file his Italian record (6 ”47) is not a utopia. Should it not succeed, there will be opportunities later: the Absolutes of Ancona are at the gates (Saturday 26), probably the meeting in Belgrade (Monday 7 March) and then the World Cup, in the same Serbian capital (Saturday 19). “The 60’s are too short for me-he admits-but it’s right to test yourself. Especially in the first part of the race. It is used to make hay in view of the outdoor season which will be very intense “.

The project

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Season that will be able to propose an appointment outside the official calendars, but of enormous appeal. A 100 on a pistino placed ad hoc, (slightly) raised to the Imperial Forums of Rome. «It is a project that fascinates me enormously – says the blue, at the end of the press conference -: if it really becomes a re-edition of the Olympic final, since everyone will already be in Europe, even more so. I have the Colosseum tattooed on my right forearm: running with it in the background would be the best. So the gold would not be put back up for grabs … ». Marcell has lived in Rome since 2018 and is a permanently acquired citizen. «The metropolis has allowed me to make a decisive qualitative leap – he remembers – and his frenzy gives me energy. I like to live it, driving around by car, now that I’m no longer afraid of traffic, but also with public transport. A race in that context would enhance one of the most beautiful places in the world. I am sure that even abroad he would have a great success ». Compared to the original idea, the date would be postponed by a few days, slipping from the beginning to mid-June. “In Rome – says the Gardesano – I competed only twice: at the 2018 and 2020 Golden Gala (always on 100, seventh in 10” 19 and fourth in 10 “11, ed.). This year at the Olimpico, in addition to the meeting, there will be the Absolutes, but such an occasion would be special. And if it is true that some competitions of the European 2024 will be held in historic places in the city, we would offer a preview of absolute quality “. First the indoor and the outdoor debut at 200. Give it to us, monsieur Jacòbs.