Marcell Jacobs out of Florence Diamond League

Italian Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs has withdrawn from Friday’s Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy. This will be the second consecutive race he will miss. The decision comes as Jacobs continues to struggle with nerve pain, the same issue that forced him to withdraw from the May 28 Diamond League meet in Morocco.

Marcell Jacobs has pulled out of the 100m against Fred Kerley in Florence on Friday. https://t.co/m2gCHivXS0

— Jonathan Gault (@jgault13) May 30, 2023

Jacobs has withdrawn from six head-to-head encounters with American sprinter Fred Kerley since May 2022, due to various health issues following his surprising gold medal win in Tokyo. Jacob’s absence paved the way for Kerley, the current world 100m champion and the fastest man in the world in 2022.

He said on Twitter before Rabat Diamond League that his injury is not an injury: “It’s the result of a misstep, which keeps me from competing in Morocco. I’m in strong physical shape technically and ready for a great outdoor season. The challenge is only postponed.”

Jacobs’ next scheduled race is a 100m event at the Paris Diamond League on June 9, where Kerley will not be participating. However, the world 200m champion, Noah Lyles, is expected to compete in the 100m.

The last time the reigning 100m Olympic and world champions competed against each other was during the 2012 London Olympic final, featuring Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. Bolt held both titles from 2013 to 2017 before retiring, remaining the Olympic champion until Jacobs’s victory in Tokyo, where Kerley won silver and Canada’s Andre De Grasse took bronze.