(Eugene) Italian Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs must withdraw from the 100m semi-finals of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday because of a thigh injury, the Italian federation announced a few hours before the race.
Posted at 7:34 p.m.
“Athlete Marcell Jacobs, during the 100m heats yesterday, felt a contracture in the adductor magnus of his right thigh,” according to the Italian Federation doctor quoted in a press release. Jacobs had arrived in Eugene without having run the 100m international, due to a thigh injury.
Arrived without landmarks at the Worlds, Jacobs had passed the milestone of the playoffs on Friday after a lackluster race (10 sec 04).
Crowned surprise Olympic champion in the straight line in Tokyo last summer, he was to find in Eugene his runner-up from Japan, the American Fred Kerley, who is a big favorite to win the world title on Saturday, the day of the semi-finals and of the final (at 7:50 p.m. local time).
After being crowned indoor world champion in the 60m in March in Belgrade, Jacobs had a series of problems during the summer season, with intestinal problems then a pulled thigh in mid-May, already preventing him from confronting the best sprinters in the world.