Absolute Disaster for Marcell Jacobs as Italy Ruled Out of 2024 World Athletics Relays Over Disqualification

The 2024 World Athletics Relays are proving to be a major stepping stone for the global track and field stars on their way to Paris. With the chance to qualify for the upcoming Olympics, athletes are giving their best to make sure their respective countries are represented on the big stage this July. However, the Bahamas tournament did not turn out fruitful for Marcell Jacobs and Team Italy.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Marcell Jacobs is a force to be reckoned with in 100m sprint events. His two golds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics both came in these events (100m and 4x100m relay) and the 29-year-old has been gearing up to defend his title at the French capital later this year. However, at the Bahamas Relays, being held at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium, the Italian men’s relay team was disqualified, ending Jacobs’ dream to compete in the 4x100m relay race two months later at the world’s biggest sporting event.

Jacobs is easily one of the most recognizable faces in the track and field community, who shot to worldwide fame after a glorious performance at the 2021 Summer Olympics. Now, as his possibility to defend his gold medal is shattered, the fans wait for more light on the matter that got the team of Roberto Rigali, Jacobs, Lorenzo Patta, and Filippo Tortu out of the competition. Team USA (Courtney Lindsey, Kenneth Bednarek, Kyree King, and Noah Lyles) went on to win the event, with Canada and France coming second and third, respectively. But Jacobs’ fate hasn’t been a one-off thing at the Bahamas event.

2024 World Athletics Relays witness to another bizarre incident

Only yesterday, the USA suffered a massive blow as the men’s 4x400m relay team was disqualified. The shocking decision came after Champion Allison tried to exchange his starting position with a Japanese sprinter at the starting line while waiting for the baton to be passed to him by Christopher Bailey.

It was later revealed that Allison didn’t consult with the tournament officials about changing his lane, which resulted in the entire team being deemed unfit to partake in the event. Luckily, they qualified for the Olympics by finishing in the top two of a repechage round on Sunday. Apart from this, several good things came their way in the event.

Team USA triumphed in four out of five events by winning gold in the women’s 4x100m relays, the 4x400m women’s relays, the men’s 4x100m relays and the mixed 4x400m relays. Noah Lyles put on another stellar performance to anchor the USA’s momentum in the 4x100m race, while Olympic medalist Gabby Thomas contributed significantly to both the women’s events on their way to the top of the podium. The only thing to see now is if Lyles and Co. can go on to clinch more gold medals with similar performances in Paris in two months’ time.