By Mitch Phillips
TOKYO (Reuters) – Lamont Marcell Jacobs claimed a stunning upset victory in the Olympic 100 metres final on Sunday, becoming the first Italian to take the most coveted title in athletics and doing it with a huge European record of 9.80 seconds.
American Fred Kerley took silver in a personal best 9.84 with Canada’s Andre de Grasse repeating his bronze of 2016 in 9.89.
Jacobs had fired a warning with a European record of 9.84 in the semi-finals to become the first Italian ever to make the final but in the most wide-open showdown for decades, he still seemed an outsider.
After Briton Zharnel Hughes had been disqualified for a false start, racheting up the tension, Jacobs got an explosive start and maintained his form for an incredible win.
Kerley, hoping to be the first American winner since Justin Gatlin in 2004, ran brilliantly for second, with De Grasse finishing fast in another lifetime best.
Su Bingtian won his semi-final in an Asian record 9.83 but was never in the mix and finished sixth.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, and Editing by Clare Fallon)
