Kerley dares arch-rival Marcel Jacobs to a 100m clash

ATHLETICS Kerley dares arch-rival Marcel Jacobs to a 100m clash

Abigael Wafula 18:00 - 04.05.2023

Since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Jacobs and Kerley have not gone head-to-head, but Jacobs was injured for much of the 2022 season.

World 100m champion Fred Kerley believes that if he and Olympic Champion Marcell Jacobs ever get to compete together, he ‘will definitely win.’

However, he bullishly said that he doesn’t know if Jacobs will show up for the competition.

“If it happens, I will be there and I’ll definitely win. However, I don’t know if he will show up,” confident Kerley said during the press conference ahead of the Wanda Diamond League circuit opener in Doha, Qatar.

Recently, the duo has been involved in an online altercation that saw the exchange barbs. It all started when Kerley was asked on the “Sprint Culture” video podcast about Jacobs’ performance at the recent European Indoor Championships.

Jacobs was runner-up in the 60m in 6.50 seconds, ranking him seventh in the world this year. Jacobs won the world indoor 60m title last year in 6.41 seconds.

“Indoor is indoor. The real dogs come and play outdoor,” said Kerley, who last raced indoors in 2021.

Kerley was then asked if Jacobs is “a real dog” and he seemed to differ with the idea. “I don’t think so. I’m just going to be truthful,” he said.

Jacobs appeared to respond on his Instagram stories. The captions read: “The lion doesn’t turn around when a small dog barks” and “Easy run today so as not to scare small dogs.”

The back-and-forth continued after Jacobs posted another Instagram story, this time an image of him edging Kerley at the Tokyo Olympic 100m finish line.

“Whenever you want and wherever you want, but remember that when it mattered more it ended like this,” the caption read.

Kerley then tweeted at the account for the Diamond League and said: "Make it happen I want 1v1 no one else just him. Him alone.”

Kerley also reposted one of Jacobs’ Instagram training clips but wrote over it with a Daffy Duck.The caption read: “You are the best at ducking,” to imply that Jacobs avoids racing the world’s best sprinters.

The earliest that Kerley and Jacobs could meet in a Diamond League 100m is in Rabat, Morocco, on May 28 according to NBC Sport. Since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Jacobs and Kerley have not gone head-to-head, but Jacobs was injured for much of the 2022 season.

At the moment, Kerley is gearing up to compete over the 200m at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha, Qatar on Friday, May 5.

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