ROME (Reuters) - Olympic gold medalist Lamont Marcell Jacobs returns to the 100m big stage after muscle injuries ruled him out of several Diamond League meets and the Italian has been far from his best this season.
Having stunned the world with a European record time of 9.80 seconds in Tokyo, Jacobs has since been out of the limelight and has not run a sub-10 second race — without wind assistance — this year despite winning his fifth national title last month.
The Italian is up against stiff competition with a group of American sprinters vying for the title and ensuring the gold returns to the U.S. for a third consecutive time — none more so than Christian Coleman.
The 26-year-old beat former champion Justin Gatlin to win gold at the worlds two years ago in Doha but an 18-month suspension for breaching anti-doping whereabouts rules prevented him from a shot at Olympic glory.
Since his return, Coleman warmed up with two sub-10 second finishes last month at the New York Grand Prix and the USA Track & Field Championships — also held at Hayward Field.
Coleman has had his eye firmly set on defending his world title since the day it was confirmed he would miss the Tokyo Games. Although he did not run in the USATF championships final, he has a wildcard entry for the worlds.
Both Jacobs and Coleman will be wary of Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley — the American who ran the fastest 100m this season in 9.76 seconds last month.
Kerley has displayed incredible versatility to switch from the 400m to focus on the shorter distances to become the sixth-fastest man in history.