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≡ ITALIAN SPRINT INTRIGUE ≡
One of the proudest moments in the history of Italian track & field came on 6 August 2021 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the men’s 4×100 m relay, where anchor runner Filippo Tortu took the baton in second place and burst past Britain’s CJ Ujah to win the gold in a national record of 37.50.
Lorenzo Patta ran lead-off, handing to Olympic 100 m champ Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who passed to Fausto Desalu on the turn. It was a stunning second Olympic gold for Jacobs, who had won the 100 m over American Fred Kerley.
Now it appears that Tortu’s brother was trying to undermine Jacobs prior to the Games.
Last week, it was reported that, as part of a months-long, ongoing investigation into the activities of a Milan-based private intelligence firm – Equalize – Giacomo Tortu, the brother of Filippo Tortu, had asked the company to wiretap Jacobs and his coaching and training team to try to uncover whether Jacobs was doping, as reported by his blood test results.
Jacobs had never run faster than 10.03 for the 100 m through 2020, but opened in 2021 with a national record of 9.95 in May, and ran lifetime bests of 9.94, 9.84 and 9.80 in Tokyo to win the Olympic 100.
Giacomo Tortu, now 32, was a modest sprinter with bests of 10.73 (‘17) and 21.05 (‘15), is the older brother by six years of relay gold winner Filippo, 26, a national star who has run 9.99 (‘18) and 20.10 (‘22) and was the 2024 European 200 m runner-up.
The story goes that Giacomo asked Equalize – during the Tokyo Olympic year in 2021 but possibly also in 2020 – to surface results of Jacobs’ blood tests and discussions with his team to see if he was doping; Jacobs has never been associated with any sanctions.
Stefano Mei, the 1986 European men’s 10,000 m champion and now President of the Italian national federation – FIDAL – said in an Instagram video posted Saturday (computer translation from the original Italian):
● “We have learned from the media that a Fidal member, Giacomo Tortu , is under investigation by the Milan Prosecutor’s Office for alleged espionage activities on Marcell Jacobs. If the presence of an investigation is confirmed, we would be faced with an episode that will also have to be addressed by our Federal Prosecutor’s Office, which, as per the rules, will evaluate the documents as soon as possible according to the timing of the criminal proceedings.”
● “We are still talking about a story that does not seem to involve Filippo Tortu. The fact remains that regardless of everything, today as always the one who runs fastest will go in the relay.”
● “Until the conviction, the suspects and the accused are innocent, and I truly hope that there has been no espionage or attempted espionage against Marcell, because it would be not only illegitimate, but also unfair towards a great champion. We are neither worried nor saddened, on the contrary: our technical sector continues to work calmly, our relay will be competitive in 2025 too. We are preparing for another great season.”
Jacobs, 30, suffered from injuries after Tokyo in 2021, but won the European 100 title in 2022 at 9.95 and defended in 2024 in 10.02 and finished fifth in the Paris Olympic final in 9.85 – 0.04 from a medal – ranking no. 7 on the world list for the year. He was born in El Paso, then moved with his mother to Italy as a toddler, and now trains in the U.S.
Giacomo Tortu has not been charged so far. But this story shows that truth really is stranger than fiction.
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