When Oblique Seville was 10, he told his mother he wanted to be trained by Usain Bolt’s coach Glen Mills. That came to pass when he joined the famous Racers Track Club in Jamaica. Now, on a night of exhilarating speed and twisting drama, he achieved a far bigger dream and emulated his hero by becoming the 100m world champion.
To make it even sweeter, he delivered the greatest performance of his career in front of Bolt himself, who was cheering and punching like a superfan as Seville ran down his fellow Jamaican Kishane Thompson in the final metres to secure gold in 9.77sec.
“It was a pleasure to have Usain watching me,” Seville said. “His coach is my coach and I know that both of them are very proud of me right now. They were telling me I was going to be the world champion. And I have proved, in front of him, that I am. I am very proud of that. Now, more gold medals.”
This was a night when the National Stadium in Tokyo felt like the world’s biggest steam room, with the heat and impossible humidity making palms and minds sweaty. Not that you would know it looking at Noah Lyles on the blocks.
As his name was announced he raised his hands in the air like a champion boxer before roaring into the night sky.
Beside him was another contender, Thompson, whom he had beaten to gold by 0.005sec in a thrilling Olympic 100m final last year. The Jamaican, too, was bouncing around excitedly, eager for what lay ahead. Seville, though, played it ice cool as he waited to pounce.
It took a while, though. Thompson, who moves with the power of a No 8 forward with a try-line in sight, made his usual lightning start. And he was still leading until the last five metres or so until his form got increasingly raggedy. “I enjoyed myself,” he said.
Moment of magic: Oblique Seville crosses the finish line to win the final ahead of Kishane Thompson and third-place Noah Lyles. Photograph: Paweł Kopczyński/Reuters
“I wanted to win. But when it came to the last five metres, I saw Oblique was moving. And then I was like ‘oh’.”
Oh indeed. Still, he looked happy to take silver in 9.82sec with Lyles, the reigning Olympic and world champion, claiming bronze in 9.89.
As usual Lyles was great value afterwards, as he admitted that an injury had ruined his chances of 100m gold – before predicting boldly that he would definitely defend his 200m title this week.
“The difference between last year and this one was my injury,” Lyles said.
“Getting injured in the middle of the season was not part of my plan. Unfortunately it made me rush a lot of things. I came to the world championships with only four races over 100 metres under my belt.
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“Even in the final I was able to run my season’s best, and I will never be disappointed with that.”
Meanwhile, this victory was particularly sweet for Seville, given that he had twice missed out on a bronze medal at the past two World Athletics Championships, finishing fourth each time. Budapest in 2023 was particularly tough, given he clocked 9.88sec, the same time as the silver and bronze medallists.
To make matters worse, at the Olympics last year Seville had run quicker than anyone in the semi‑finals, before finishing last in the final after injuring his hamstring.
“For Paris I got injured in the final and I fell short, but I learnt from my mistake,” he said afterwards. “I have proved that I am a true competitor, that I have the determination of a champion. But still, I was panicking. Finishing strong in the last 30 to 40 metres was something I was struggling with the whole season.
“But now I have perfected it. And I was confident that if I could do it in the final, I would win. Track and field is both mental and physical. But to be honest, I think I have mastered the mental part of it.”
Last year people were starting to wonder whether the 24-year-old had the right stuff. This, emphatically, proved he did. In doing so, he also brought the title of the fastest man on the planet back to the country he loves. “The last time Jamaica won a men’s 100m global gold medal was in 2016 when Usain Bolt got it,” Seville said. “The gold is coming home.”
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