Marcell Jacobs wears his story openly. The Olympic sprinter has tattoos across his chest, shoulders, arms, stomach and back, and many connect to something real: his children, his former long-jump identity, his family, his faith in himself, and the people and ideas that kept him going.
The collection is easy to follow even when the designs get busy. A compass over his stomach, Medusa near the top of his chest, a tiger on his back, his children’s names, long quotations and a cross marked “believe” all have their own place. It’s less a wall of black-and-grey ink than a personal scrapbook spread across a very fast athlete.
Jacobs has explained several of the pieces himself. The compass is about staying on course; the family words honour Nicole and the children; and “Crazylongjumper” points to the sport he loved before sprinting took over. Even the longer quotes reflect how he wants to live. Here’s a closer look at the best-documented tattoos.
The believe cross carries a message he grew into
On Jacobs’ right shoulder, a cross and crown sit above the word “believe.” The image already had meaning, but the timing gave it another layer after his Tokyo Olympic win. The tattoo was there before he became the Olympic 100-metre champion; after he beat the field, the message looked almost prophetic.
That doesn’t mean it predicted the race. Its meaning shifted with the result. Before Tokyo, “believe” was a private instruction. Afterwards, it looked like a line Jacobs had managed to live up to. The ink stayed the same while he moved into a new chapter.
The cross is in a spot that shows easily in training photos and interviews. Jacobs doesn’t need to explain it for people to notice. The word is clear at a glance, and the crown gives the lettering more weight than a plain script tattoo would have.
His old long-jumping identity is written across the upper chest
Across his collarbone, Jacobs has “Crazylongjumper.” The phrase comes from his Instagram name and his earlier life in athletics, before he focused fully on sprinting. It keeps that earlier version of him in the picture. He’s now known worldwide for the 100 metres, but the long-jumping years are still part of his story.
The placement feels right: the words sit high across the chest, almost like a name on a kit. It’s personal, but it also works as a public label. Anyone who sees it can tell that his career began well before the Olympic final.
Longer inscriptions sit below and around the nickname. One of the best-known is a Charlie Chaplin quote translated into Italian. It speaks about embracing life, taking a loss with grace, staying passionate and daring to win. It’s a lot of words, but Jacobs has made room for them because the message fits his outlook. It feels less like decoration and more like a rule he wants nearby.
The compass keeps him pointed in the right direction
The compass rose above Jacobs’ navel is one of the collection’s clearest symbols. He has said it represents guidance and reminds him to stay on course. That fits an athlete whose career has changed direction more than once: he moved from long jump to sprinting, then from promising European competitor to Olympic champion.
Its position gives the compass a natural centre. The points spread across the upper stomach, making it a focal point in a front-facing photo and linking the chest lettering to the names and dates below.
There’s a practical side to the symbol. It isn’t only about travel or adventure; Jacobs uses it as a reminder to judge situations and keep his direction when life gets noisy. That’s a useful thought for someone whose public life changed overnight after Tokyo.
Family names and dates keep the collection grounded
The most direct family tribute is made up of his children’s names: Jeremy, Anthony and Meghan, each given their own place across his body. They sit among larger images, but the idea is simple. His children aren’t tucked into one small symbol; each has a mark of their own.
Jacobs has their birth dates in Roman numerals too. The names show who matters to him; the dates make the tattoos a timeline. The words sit beside a compass, portraits, quotations and sports designs, much as family life sits alongside training and competition.
A phrase on his left shoulder translates as “Family, where life is born and love never ends.” It connects the individual names to the bigger idea behind them. Jacobs has spoken about how much Nicole and their children mean to him. The medals changed his public life, but these family pieces explain who the success is for.
Medusa gives the chest a mythic edge
Just below the collarbone lettering is a face framed by snakes, usually described as a Medusa tattoo. It brings a different mood to the upper chest: the compass is directional, the family names are warm, and Medusa adds mythology, danger and dramatic beauty.
Jacobs hasn’t given one definitive explanation for every detail, so there’s no need to invent one. The image itself is clear, as is the way it works with the surrounding tattoos. Medusa sits below the old long-jumper lettering, and the snakes carry movement toward the chest and shoulders.
The figure also fits the collection’s wider interest in recognisable symbols with a bit of history. Medusa can suggest strength, warning, protection or transformation, depending on the person wearing it. Here, it sits comfortably beside a cross, an anchor and a compass without forcing them into one theme.
The anchor, Carpe diem and tiger widen the story
Other pieces fill out the picture: an anchor on his left arm, “Carpe diem” on his left pectoral and a tiger across his back. The anchor echoes the compass’s navigation theme in a more traditional tattoo style. It suggests steadiness, something that can hold you in place while everything else moves.
“Carpe diem” means seize the day and sits naturally beside the longer Chaplin quote about living with passion. Jacobs returns to similar ideas throughout his collection: believe, stay on course, keep moving and make something of the day in front of you.
The tiger changes the mood. It’s associated with power and speed, which makes sense for a sprinter, but it also gives his back a bold image that can stand on its own. It may not show up in a standard red-carpet photo, yet it helps explain why the collection is bigger than the chest tattoos people tend to notice first.
The tattoo collection feels like a career map
Together, Jacobs’ tattoos form a loose map of his life. The family names and dates mark home; “Crazylongjumper” remembers the event that came before sprinting; the compass points ahead; and the cross carries the word “believe.” The tiger and Medusa bring strength and mythology, while the quotations give him words to return to.
No single style holds it all together, and that’s part of the appeal. Some designs are lettering, others portraits or traditional symbols, and some are large enough to need a full-body photo to make sense. The collection grew through different stages rather than appearing all at once.
It’s worth keeping the photos in mind, too. A crop can make a name look like decoration or hide the compass in a fold of skin. Wider, clearer images show how the pieces connect and make it obvious that the tattoos aren’t an afterthought. Jacobs has spent years building a record of the people, sports and ideas that keep him moving.
He’s not only carrying reminders of where he has been; he’s carrying instructions for where he wants to go next.
The tattoo interview
Jacobs has discussed the stories behind his ink in interviews and features about his Olympic career. The video below focuses on his tattoos and the meanings connected to the Italian sprinter’s designs.