Just three-thousands of a second, or the proverbial thickness of a vest, separated Marcell Jacobs and Christian Coleman but the Italian followed up his surprise Olympic 100m triumph with victory in the 60m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade in a European record of 6.41.
And Jacobs also had the satisfaction of defeating the athlete that many considered to be the favourite for the Olympic title in Tokyo as well as the world record-holder at the shortest championship distance on the programme. Coleman is also the reigning world 100m champion but he is arguably an even better 60m sprinter, not having chalked up a defeat at this distance since 2016 prior to this evening.
Jacobs trailed Coleman, who was returning to international competition after missing the Tokyo Olympics due to an 18 month suspension, and his US teammate Marvin Bracy on the season’s list in the build-up to Belgrade but the Italian had once again timed his peak to perfection.
After progressing through the heats without much fanfare, Jacobs improved the Italian record to 6.45 in the 60m semifinal earlier this evening to qualify fastest for the final where he looked a picture of assurance and focus as he was introduced to the crowd before taking to the blocks.
While Coleman got his trademark fast start in the final, he didn’t get much of an advantage out of the blocks on Jacobs, who admits the 60 metres is not his preferred distance.
But Jacobs enjoyed his best start of the championships in the final, drew onto level terms with Coleman midway through and held his form brilliantly while the American faltered slightly in the last five metres.
Even though the outcome looked clear-cut to the naked eye, it took nearly two minutes to separate Jacobs and Coleman with only 0.003 dividing the gold and silver medallists. The pair's times down to thousandth of a second were 6.407 and 6.410 respectively with Jacobs’ official winning time of 6.41 eclipsing Dwain Chambers’ long-standing European record from 2009 by 0.01.
This arena had not served Jacobs well prior to tonight. In his former career as a long jumper, Jacobs exited in qualifying when Belgrade staged the 2017 European Indoor Championships before he false started for the first time in his career at the Serbian Indoor Meeting last Monday.
But tonight, the Stark Arena was the setting for a triumph which ranks only behind his gold medals in the 100m and 4x100m at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. Including his European indoor title in Torun, this was the Italian’s fourth major gold medal in the space of just over fourteen months. And yet more medals beckon this summer at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon and the European Athletics Championships in Munich.
“I love these moments when I am winning. It is just amazing. The next milestone will be the World Championships and the European Championships and the goal is to take another medal,” said Jacobs. "I have a rare opportunity to get everything there is to offer this summer and I wnat to take it."
“I felt I was in the best shape I could be in this moment. Now, the preparation for outdoors will be very important because if I win both championships outdoors, I will make history. I am really proud of my achievements and I worked hard for that."
Samba-Mayela and Garcia begin the gold medal rush in Belgrade
In the race prior to the men’s 60m final, France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela stormed to a triumphant gold medal in the women's 60m hurdles.
Before Belgrade, France had won seven silver or bronze medals in this discipline but Samba-Mayela went one better, extending France’s fine tradition of sprint hurdling by not only storming to the gold medal but also taking ownership of the French record with 7.78.
Samba-Mayela looked stunned and disbelieving after crossing the finish-line before dissolving into tears but the outcome was one she had plotted all through the indoor season.
“I came here with only one goal: to become world indoor champion. I have been working hard which gave me an opportunity to improve a lot this winter season. This victory is all about being focused on yourself,” said Samba-Mayela.
The fastest starter of all was Ditaji Kambundji who, like her older sister Mujinga in the women's 60m final, was drawn in the outside lane. After an electric start with her reaction time recorded at 0.108, Kambundji clattered the second barrier which left her off balance going into the third hurdle where she fell heavily; a sad ending to her campaign which saw her come away with a Swiss record of 7.89 in the semifinal.
"I was trying to give it my best. I tried to show what I was able to do; there is always a risk for something like this to happen. I was ready to run fast. My future goal is to get back up and run the outdoor season," said Kambundji.
Mariano Garcia survived an eight-man field and a super-fast first two laps to win a rare gold medal for Spain in the men’s 800m final.
Spain had won 35 medals at the World Indoor Championships prior to Belgrade but surprisingly, this was only Spain’s second gold medal after Manuel Martinez won the shot put title in 2003 although Coloman Trabado did win gold at the same distance at the 1985 World Indoor Games, the predecessor of the World Indoor Championships.
Garcia followed in the slipstream of Canada’s Marco Arop who took up the unofficial role of pacemaker, blasting through 200m in 23.97 and the 400m mark in 50.34. By this point, Garcia had slotted himself into third place in 50.75 and the Spaniard looked dangerous and poised to strike heading into the last lap.
Garcia struck out early - but decisively - and the world leader at 1:45.12 held off a two-pronged charge from the 17-year-old Kenyan Noah Kibet and Bryce Hoppel from the United States to take a triumphant victory which he marked with his trademark revving-up motorcycle impression.
In what developed into a sheer race of grit and attrition after a lightning first two laps, Garcia’s winning time was a fairly modest 1:46.20 but this was immaterial in a championship setting with medals the principal motive.
“I just tried to keep with the group and in the last lap I tried to attack the front and told myself to run fast until the end - till I die. I was very focused and ready to leave everything on the track,” said Garcia.