Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs drops out of Diamond League match-up vs. Fred Kerley
"It’s the result of a misstep and not an injury, which does however keep me from competing in Morocco," says the Olympic 100m champion
Photo by:
James Rhodes
Marcell Jacobs, the Olympic 100m champion from Italy, has been forced to withdraw from Sunday’s Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco, where he was set to face off against world 100m champion Fred Kerley. Jacobs cited mild sciatica as the reason for his withdrawal.
“I am forced to skip the 100m and the first face-off with Kerley in Rabat, which I was really looking forward to, due to a sacral nerve block that I’m working on resolving in the short term,” Jacobs said in a tweet. “It’s the result of a misstep and not an injury, which does however keep me from competing in Morocco. I’m in strong physical shape technically and ready for a great outdoor season. The challenge is only postponed.”
Although Jacobs will miss the Rabat meet on May 28, he and Kerley are still scheduled to compete against each other at a Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy, on June 2, provided that Jacobs’ sciatica treatment resolves in the next week or so.
😂😂😂
— Fred Kerley (@fkerley99) May 25, 2023
Jacobs experienced several setbacks last season, missing most of it including the world championships, due to health issues. Meanwhile, Kerley’s main competitors in the upcoming race will be fellow American Trayvon Bromell, the world bronze medallist, and Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, the fastest man in the world this year with a time of 9.84 seconds.
The last time the reigning Olympic and world men’s 100m champions faced each other in a race was in the 2012 London Olympic final, featuring Jamaica’s Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. Following Bolt’s reign from 2013 to 2017, he retired as Olympic champion until Jacobs surprised the world with his victory in Tokyo, where Kerley claimed silver and Canada’s Andre De Grasse won bronze.
Canadians in Rabat
Two of Canada’s top performers from the 2022 season will be opening up their Diamond League campaign on Sunday in Rabat. World 800m bronze medallist Marco Arop will go up against the reigning world and Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Korir of Kenya. Korir has gotten the best of Arop in their last three meetings. The 800m in Rabat will be both athletes’ first race of the 2023 outdoor season.
After winning the USATF Throws Festival last weekend with a mark of 19.58m, Canada’s Sarah Mitton will head into the women’s shot put in Rabat as the favourite. Mitton’s 2022 season was one to remember, winning gold at the Commonwealth Games and finishing fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Mitton will rival 2021 Diamond League champion Auriol Dongmo, who is ranked fourth in the world in the shot put heading into Sunday.
You can watch all action from the Rabat Diamond League on Sunday afternoon on CBC Sports, starting at 1 p.m. E.T.
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