Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs will open his 2023 outdoor campaign with a 100m at the Paris Diamond League against 200m world champion Noah Lyles. In the pre-race press conference, Jacobs responded to several questions about scratching from the Rabat and Florence Diamond League races due to injury.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Marcell Jacobs pulled out of the Rabat and Florence Diamond League races, where he was set to face world champion Fred Kerley for the first time since the Tokyo Olympic final, due to a back injury.

– Track and field fans on social media had no shortage of jokes and memes about Jacobs avoiding a showdown against Kerley. Jacobs has scratched from six potential races against Kerley since Spring 2022.

– Jacobs’ last race was a runner-up finish in the men’s 60m final at the European Indoor Championships, where he was beaten by his compatriot Samuele Ceccarelli.

– Kerley won the Rabat and Florence Diamond League races and remains undefeated in the 100m this season.

Here’s what Jacobs said on Thursday:

Jacobs via a translator: “I don’t need to give any reply to anyone because that would just take energy away from me. I need the energy for myself. On the other hand, it’s normal that people talk a lot – maybe more than they should. Honestly, if they speak a lot about me, it’s kind of fun. It’s stimulating. It means that they’re interested in what I’m doing so that’s good. 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.”