Italian star crowned as world’s fastest man after stunning 100m victory

The heir to Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt has been crowned on the Tokyo track - and he’s Italian.

Lamont Marcell Jacobs won the blue riband event of the games with a stunning 9.80s run in a race when the top three runners all claimed personal-best times.

USA’s Fred Kerley claimed second place with a 9.84s, ahead of 2016 silver medallist Andre de Grasse of Canada with a 9.89s.

Jacobs was third in his semi-final with a 9.84s, but pulled away in the dying stages of the final to claim gold. Remarkably, he went faster than Usain Bolt did in Rio - while he hadn’t even broken 10 seconds before this year.

Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes false-started and was disqualified, while Enoch Adegoke of Nigeria pulled up halfway with injury and failed to finish. Every other runner finished in sub-10 seconds.

While Italy has twice won gold in the men's 200m, it had never won a medal in the 100m until Jacobs broke through on Sunday night.