Olympic sprinters Marcell Jacobs and Fred Kerley have been track rivals for several years now. However, in recent times, their rivalry has made it off the tracks and to their social media. It all started when the American sprinter, Kerley, appeared on the Sprint Culture podcast. He was asked to comment on the Italian sprinter’s indoor performance. Subtly taking a dig at Jacobs, Kerley stated “real dogs” play outdoors. His response didn’t sit well with Jacobs, who later took to his Instagram to reply back to Kerley.

As the to-and-fro between the two sprinters continued, the sports world got hooked on their banter. Veteran sprinter, too, served as a commentator about their rift on social media. At this point, Kerley challenged Jacobs to a 1v1 race. While the Italian sprinter is yet to respond to the challenge, fans are excited to see it happen.

Fred Kerley challenges Marcell Jacobs

On 17th April 2023, following Kerley’s interview, Jacobs posted a picture on his Instagram story of the two athletes moments away from finishing one of their races. In the image, Jacobs was ahead of the American sprinter. Adding a caption, he wrote, “Whenever you want and wherever you want, but remember that when it mattered more it ended like this.”

Olympics & World Champion Michael Johnson summarized the banter of the two fastest men in a tweet. Along with the screenshot of Jacobs’ story, he tweeted, “Facts from @crazylongjumper This is in response to @fkerley99 asked if Jacobs is a real dog. His response: ‘I don’t think so…’ Unfortunately probably won’t see a head to head until August World Champs.”

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Quoting Johnson’s tweet, Kerley quoted, “@Diamond_League make it happen I want 1v1 no one else just him. Him alone.” While the two athletes are fuming at each other, fans are enjoying the exchange.

Fans react to Kerley’s challenge

Hinting that the race would be priceless, another fan commented, “Nahhh this one worth more than a 10k prize… auction this race off to the highest bidder.”

Excited about the race, a fan commented, “That would be race worth watching!!!! 1v1 battle – a New athletics format 🔥🔥”

Another fan added, “This could be the match up of the ages, we need more 1v1s in track.”

Placing his bets on fellow American sprinter, Olympic bronze medalist Noah Lyles tweeted, “I got 20k💰on Fred for the 1V1.”

While most fans are looking forward to the showdown, some believe the Italian sprinter would be a no-show. One such fan reasoned, “Jacobs been dodging Fred since Tokyo.”

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If their rivalry makes it back on track from social media, whose side would you be on? Let us know in the comments.