Sprint champion Jacobs hopes to fly the flag for Italy in four years’ time

ROME: Lamont Marcell Jacobs will be among the Italian athletes walking behind flag bearers Arianna Errigo and Gianmarco Tamberi at the Paris Games opening ceremony but he hopes successfully defending his 100m title could land him the honour in four years’ time.

Jacobs, who became first Italian to win the men’s 100m in Tokyo and also won gold in the 4x100m relay, is set to compete at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet in Ostrava on Tuesday and the Oslo Diamond League two days later. Jacobs, who clocked a season’s best time of 10.07 seconds to win the 100m at the Roma Sprint Festival earlier this month, told Italian daily La Stampa that he would have loved to have carried the flag in Paris. “I would have been super happy, there was a lot of competition and Gimbo (Tamberi) is the captain of athletics, he has won everything, he is a motivator and he will certainly know how to play the role,” he said. “I will have to win again in Paris to put myself forward for Los Angeles 2028.”