Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs pulls up injured<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s Nadia Battocletti wins gold in women\u2019s 5,000m<\/p>\n
On Marcell Jacobs\u2019 right arm there is a tattoo of the Roman colosseum and a gladiator: a reminder of his fighting spirit and what Italy\u2019s capital means to him. But in the swirling bearpit of a European championships 100m final, the former Olympic champion\u2019s body dramatically broke down.<\/p>\n
That was the first shock. The second was the sight of two Britons, Romell Glave and Jeremiah Azu, blasting through to take gold and silver.<\/p>\n
True, their finishing times were nothing special. But tell that to the 16,000 crowd who cheered to the rafters as Glave took gold in a modest 10.09sec, with Azu following him home in 10.16.<\/p>\n
Germany\u2019s Owen Ansah claimed bronze in 10.19. And Jacobs? Well, he looked a little saddened and weary as he hobbled over the line in 12.26.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter about the time,\u201d said Glave, who was wearing sunglasses and certainly left his rivals in the shade. \u201cThe condition wasn\u2019t as great because of the headwind. But I wasn\u2019t really focused on that. I was focused on my race. I was able to do that today and I\u2019m king of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the third time Britain has won gold and silver in the men\u2019s 100m at the European championships, following Darren Campbell beating Dwain Chambers in 1998 and Zharnel Hughes finishing ahead of Reece Prescod in 2018.<\/p>\n
Yet few would have put their money on it happening again when Jacobs, the twice European 100m champion who also won gold in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, looked so imperious when strolling through his semi-final in 10.08.<\/p>\n
But shortly after the gun went off in the final, everyone\u2019s assumptions were shot to pieces as Azu set a searing pace, Glave followed \u2013 and the Italian\u2019s injury-ridden body suddenly broke down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ahead, so I wasn\u2019t really sure what happened until I saw the replay,\u201d said Glave. \u201cThat\u2019s when I realised that he pulled up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Afterwards, as he sported a crown on his head, he explained that he had moved from Jamaica to London at 15 in search of a better life. \u201cI came over to live with my family,\u201d he said. My dad was over here, and there\u2019s more opportunity in Britain compared to Jamaica.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a more opportunity to join an athletics club,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd that resource that he gave me, I\u2019m like a living testimony. Just standing here to show that I was born in Jamaica, but Britain is where I was made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about wearing sunglasses late at night, Glave said he had decided to do it this year. \u201cIt\u2019s a part of my style, it is a part of my personality and fashion identity. It\u2019s a new thing for this year because this year means business.\u201d<\/p>\n
That business of sprinting has not always been smooth, though. Glave was the world\u2019s fastest teenager in 2017, when he ran 10.21 as a 17-year-old.<\/p>\n