09 May, 2023

Kerley vs Jacobs: Showdown set for Florence

Photo: Chiara Montesano / Wanda Diamond League

The long-awaited showdown between 100m world champion Fred Kerley and Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs has been confirmed for the third Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season at the Pietro Mennea Golden Gala in Florence on June 2nd.

World 100m champion Fred Kerley and Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs will go head to head at the third Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season in Florence on June 2nd, in a much-anticipated clash between two men with a claim to be the best sprinter in the world.

All eyes will be on Kerley and Jacobs at the Pietro Mennea Golden Gala, as the two men race against each other for the first time since the Olympic final in Tokyo in 2021.

Kerley has been talking up his chances of beating Jacobs in recent weeks. "If it happens, I'll be there and I'll definitely win. I don't know if he'll show up," he said at the press conference ahead of the Wanda Diamond League season opener in Doha last week.

"I'd be there. I don't know if he'd show up..."@fkerley99 is not giving up on this idea of a one-on-one with @crazylongjumper.#DohaDL #DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/eMqGVB3Gu3
— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) May 4, 2023

The American got his Diamond League campaign off to a solid start on Friday, clocking 19.92 to take victory in the men's 200m in Doha.

Jacobs has not competed on the Diamond League circuit since his third-place finish in Monaco in 2021, a race which proved to be a warm-up for his historic victory in Tokyo.

Neither of the two men are guaranteed victory, however, with Wanda Diamond League champion Trayvon Bromell also set to run in Florence. Bromell picked up his first ever Diamond League win in Silesia last year before going on to dethrone Kerley in the series final in Zurich a few weeks later.

The Wanda Diamond League Florence is the third leg of athletics' premier one-day meeting series, which comprises 14 of the most prestigious events in global track and field. Athletes compete for points at the 13 series meetings in a bid to qualify for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene on 16th-17th September.

Click here to see the 2023 Wanda Diamond League calendar in full.