The clash between legendary track and field stars, Lamont Marcell Jacobs and Fred Kerley is meandering to newer courses every day. After Kerley called out Jacobs for participating in indoor events, the battle between the players took an exciting turn in April. Fans eagerly awaited to witness a face-off between the two. However, Jacobs has been consistently pulling out from every championship where he is supposed to compete against his rival. 

On June 8, the news website, Citius Mag reported about Jacobs’ statement on his ongoing tussle with Fred Kerley. From his message, it seemed like the athlete was trying to not pay attention to the notions around him. 

What did Marcell Jacobs say about Fred Kerley?

In May, Marcell Jacobs backed out from his highly awaited face-off with Fred Kerley at the Rabat Diamond League, citing his back injury. He explained that his lumbosacral nerve was experiencing a block. Then again, on June 2, Jacobs backed out from the Florence Diamond League, explaining that he had not fully recovered. 

The athlete’s withdrawal from two consecutive races against Fred Kerley escalated the online trolling. However, keeping his calm, Jacobs released a statement with Citius Mag on the controversy at the pre-race press conference of the Paris Diamond League. He explained that he does not need to reply to anyone because that would take away his energy. He would like to channel his focus and drive into his championships. Further, Jacobs added that if people are talking about him, then that was fun. It indicated that they are interested in his life. 

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Lastly, he commented on his relationship with Fred Kerley, “As I said before, I speak often with Fred Kerley. In his last message on Instagram, he told me that he was happy that I was coming back. We talk regularly.” As per Jacobs’s statement, his rapport with Kerley is on good terms. However, when the online spat began between the two parties, they went absolutely loggerheads. 

What happened between Marcell Jacobs and Fred Kerley?

After becoming a surprise winner at the Tokyo Olympics 2021, against great athletes like Fred Kerley and Andre De Grasse, Jacobs turned down the 2022 Kip Keino Classic event. Ever since the Olympics, he had not faced Kerley. Since he backed out from the following championship, his rival Kerley openly criticized him in April. 

He called out Jacobs’s choice to participate in indoor events and not outdoors. Kerley told Anson Henry in an interview, “At the end of the day, indoor is indoor. The real dogs come and play outdoor.”  The athlete’s statement about Jacobs spread like wildfire. Soon, the Italian runner gave a cryptic reply to his rival. Jacobs posted a video while lifting heavy weights and captioned it,  “The lion doesn’t turn around when a small dog barks.” 

Since then, the rivalry between the two elevated, with fans eagerly waiting for a face-off between them. However, it is difficult to predict when that shall happen.

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