Jamaica’s Oblique Seville stormed to victory in the men’s 100m at the London Diamond League on Saturday, upstaging reigning Olympic champion Noah Lyles in a sizzling display of speed and composure.
Seville, who has narrowly missed the podium at the last two World Championships, surged ahead from the gun and never looked back.
Positioned in lane four, he held off a late charge from Lyles to clock an impressive 9.86 seconds, the only sub-10-second time of the day.
Lyles, making his season debut over the distance after recovering from an ankle tendon injury, struggled with his start from lane five.
Despite being sandwiched between Seville and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, he chased gamely to the line, finishing second in 10.00 seconds.
Zharnel Hughes, representing Great Britain but born in Anguilla, claimed third place with a time of 10.02 seconds.
After the race, Lyles was upbeat despite the loss, “I feel great after that, I feel extremely healthy and I am feeling no pain.
I wanted the win but I think it was my fastest ever season opener, so I will take that result today.”
Reflecting on the challenge Seville presented, Lyles added, “You are going to see Oblique out there and just be like, ‘OK, do not let it get to your head, just go and try and chase them, just reel them in little by little’, just like any race.
“And then of course there is the moment when you cross the line and you are like, I did not get it this time. But the most important thing was not to panic, to make sure that I hit all the positions regardless.”
The meet marked a significant step for Lyles in his journey toward the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo this September.
Just last week, he had defeated Tebogo over 200m in Monaco, and on Friday, the American showman reiterated his ambition to replicate his triple-gold feat from Budapest 2023.
Cheered by a full house of 60,000 spectators at London Stadium, home of West Ham United, Lyles soaked in the atmosphere, spinning and applauding as the sprinters took their marks under a clearing sky, following earlier thunderstorms.
But the day belonged to Seville, who executed his race plan flawlessly and emerged unchallenged.
“I am proud of how I ran amongst a stacked field, and to win,” the 24-year-old Jamaican said.
“I was the only one to run under 10 seconds today, it is something special and phenomenal heading into a major championship later this year.
“Everything I have been practising in training, I delivered out there today. Coming out here and performing against these athletes makes me want to push a little harder.
“London is the place I wanted to run, so to get the Diamond League win here is very special to me.”
Meanwhile, fellow Jamaican and world leader over 100m this season, Kishane Thompson, who clocked a blazing 9.75 seconds earlier this year, didn’t feature in the individual race. Instead, he anchored Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team to a crucial qualifying victory for Tokyo, with the team finishing in 37.80 seconds.
“We are very grateful to get the job done,” said Thompson.
“I would not say they were the best exchanges, but we got it around safely.”
With Seville’s triumph and the relay team’s qualification secured, Jamaica looks poised for a strong showing at the World Championships later this year.
