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Marcell Jacobs from Italy wins the 100-meter dash.



TOKYO — There is a new fastest man in the world.

Marcell Jacobs of Italy sprinted to Olympic gold in the men’s 100-meter dash on Sunday, finishing in 9.80 seconds. Jacobs, 26, was born in El Paso before moving to Italy with his mother as a young child.

Fred Kerley of the United States finished second in 9.84 seconds, and Andre De Grasse of Canada was third (9.89).

The event had long been dominated by Usain Bolt, who retired following the 2017 world championships after doubling as the 100- and 200-meter champion at three straight Olympics, from 2008 to 2016.

In a surprise, the field did not include Trayvon Bromell of the United States, who had the fastest lifetime best among the semifinalists: 9.77 seconds, which he had run in June.

But after struggling to a fourth-place finish in his opening-round heat on Saturday, he finished third in the second of three semifinals on Sunday, missing out on an automatic spot in the final by a thousandth of a second. The top four runners in the third semifinal were all faster than Bromell, knocking him out of the final.

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The field was also absent another notable American: Christian Coleman, the reigning world champion, who is serving a suspension for a series of missed drug tests.

There was no clear-cut favorite, and none seemed able to fill the enormous void left by Bolt, a luminous and charismatic presence on the track and an athlete who transcended the sport. But there was plenty of intrigue for the final on Sunday, in large part because no one had any idea who would win.

Earlier in the evening, Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela broke a 26-year-old world record in the triple jump by leaping 15.67 meters.

Rojas began sprinting in excitement after realizing her accomplishment, putting her hands over her face in awe. The previous record was 15.50 meters, set in 1995 by Inessa Kravets of Ukraine.

Patrícia Mamona of Portugal won the silver, and Ana Peleteiro of Spain came in third.