Former Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs produced one of the fastest 100m races ever recorded, clocking 9.67 seconds at the Raiffeisen Austrian Open, but the remarkable performance will not be recognized in the official records due to excessive wind assistance.The Italian sprinter’s blistering run makes him the second fastest man in history in all conditions, behind only Jamaican legend Usain Bolt, whose world record of 9.58 seconds stood from 2009. However, Jacobs’ effort came with a wind of +4.1 meters per second, well above the World Athletics legal limit of +2.0.
The assistance of the wind denies Jacobs a place in official history
While Jacobs’ time won’t count as an official personal best or record, it still ranks among the most extraordinary wind-assisted performances the sport has ever witnessed.The 9.67 eclipsed Tyson Gay’s famous wind-assisted 9.68 recorded at the 2008 US Olympic trials in identical conditions of +4.1 m/s. Gay had entered the Beijing Olympics as one of the favorites before an injury derailed his campaign.In all conditions, Jacobs is now only behind Bolt’s performances of 9.58 and 9.63, underlining the quality of the race despite the favorable wind.Watch Jacobs’ historic run:
The Olympic champion has a new comeback
The performance represents another encouraging milestone in Jacobs’ comeback after a couple of difficult seasons.The 31-year-old stunned the athletics world by winning Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, but endured a frustrating title defense at the Paris Olympics. Although he reached the final with a season’s best 9.92 seconds, cramps forced him out of medal contention.His latest performance has rekindled hopes that he can once again challenge the world’s fastest sprinters ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.“I’m very happy because I’m getting better with every race,” Jacobs said after the race. “Of course, it was very windy there, but only Bolt in history was able to beat this time, and I’m really happy to have achieved such a time.”Despite the record books refusing to officially recognize the performance, Jacobs’ run sent a powerful message to the sprinting world.Among wind-assisted performances, his 9.67 is now the fastest ever, ahead of Tyson Gay’s 9.68 from 2008. Other notable wind marks include Obadele Thompson’s 9.69, Andre De Grasse’s 9.69, Asafa Powell’s 9.72 and Kanyinsola A.ja’s 9.72.
