Reigning World gold medalists in 100 and 200 meters, who led U.S. podium sweeps last year in Eugene, dismiss Olympic 100 champ Jacobs as legitimate contender ahead of global meet

By David Woods for DyeStat

Photos by Kirby Lee and Jiro Mochizuki/Image of Sport

BUDAPEST, Hungary – American sprinters forever will resent that Lamont Marcell Jacobs won the 100-meter gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles took turns taking shots at the Italian in a Friday news conference a day before the World Athletics Championships begin a nine-day run.

“Oh, I know what form he’s in. We all saw it,” Lyles said.

In Jacobs’ only 100-meter race this year, he was seventh in 10.21 seconds June 9 in Paris. Lyles was first in 9.97.

“I don’t think we’re too worried about him at the moment,” Kerley said.

Jacobs lowered his PB to 9.80 and scored a huge upset in Tokyo, beating Kerley, who took silver in 9.84. In last year’s World Championships at Eugene, Ore., Kerley clocked 9.86 to lead a 1-2-3 medal sweep by the United States.

At a Thursday news conference, Jacobs acknowledged the burden of being the Olympic champion, detailing injury struggles and doubts over the past two seasons.

“I have worked very hard to be in good shape for these World Championships,” Jacobs said.

As for Lyles, he revels in attention. He announced his goals on social media: 9.65 in the 100, compared with Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58, and 19.10 in the 200, compared with Bolt’s 19.19.

“I’m a firm believer in speaking things into existence,” he said.

Kerley doesn’t speak often or at length. His retort was succinct:

“If Noah’s running 9.65, I’m running faster.”

Lyles sounded more confident than usual, explaining he has hit new benchmarks in training. He said he has run 11.98 meters per second, compared to his top speed of 11.6 mps when he set an American record of 19.31 in winning the 200 meters at the 2022 Worlds.

He has collaborated with Ralph Mann, a 1972 silver medalist in the 400-meter hurdles who has long contributed to USATF’s sports science program. Also, Lyles made this Worlds team in a weakened condition from contracting COVID-19, then ran a 200 in 19.47 soon afterward.

“I have a good reason to believe I’m going to do something I’ve never done before,” he said.

Mu set to run 800 meters

>> Athing Mu is in Budapest and scheduled to run the 800 meters, a USATF spokesperson told Letsrun.com. Her coach, Bob Kersee, had suggested Mu, the reigning World champion, might skip worlds and focus on the 2024 Paris Olympics.

>> The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan is attempting the 1,500/5,000,10,000 triple she ran at Tokyo. The 30-year-old starts with Saturday night’s 10K. In the “Hassanathon” at the Olympics, she won golds in the 5K and 10K and earned bronze in the 1,500.

>> Budapest organizers said 85 percent of all tickets for Worlds have already been sold, including purchases from 106 countries.

>> At a news conference, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe reiterated a desire to restore cross country to the Olympics at Los Angeles 2028. Cross country is a better fit for cold weather, but the International Olympic Committee has rejected it for inclusion in the Winter Olympics. Cross country was discontinued after the 1924 Paris Olympics because of oppressive heat.

>> Coe said climate change is affecting the athletics calendar. For instance, the 2025 World Championships at Tokyo will be Sept. 13-21 in an attempt to avoid the hottest part of Japan’s summer.

>> Coe has promised World Athletics will introduce an elite event in 2026 – a year without Olympics or World Championships – but did not supply specifics. He said he supports holding a Worlds in Africa and another in the United States, perhaps in the Eastern time zone.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.