When Oblique Seville was 10, he told his mum that he wanted to be coached by Usain Bolt’s coach Glen Mills. That came to pass when he joined the famous Racers Track Club in Jamaicas. And, on a night of twisting drama, so did his dream of becoming the 100m world champion.
To make an extraordinary night even better, the greatest performance of his career came in front of Bolt himself, who was cheering and punching like a superfan as Seville ran down his fellow Jamaican Kishane Thompson to take gold in 9.77 sec. “It’s a pleasure to have Usain watching me,” Seville told the crowd. “We’re the next generation.”
This was a night where the National Stadium in Tokyo felt like the world’s biggest steam room, with the heat and impossible humidity making everyone’s palms sweater. Not that you would know it looking at Noah Lyles as he stood on the blocks. As his name was announced he raised his hands in the air like a champion boxer before roaring. But he was about to lose his crown.
Thompson was also bouncing frantically on the start line and he made his customary lightning start. And he was leading until the last 10 metres or so until his form got more raggedy. Still, he looked happy to take silver in 9.82 sec, with the reigning Olympic and world champion Lyles claiming bronze in 9.89.
This victory was particularly sweet given that Seville had twice missed out on a bronze medal at the last two World Athletics Championships, coming fourth each time. Budapest in 2023 was particularly tough, given he clocked 9.88 sec, the same time as the silver and bronze medallists.
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To make matters worse, at last year’s Olympics Seville had run quicker than anyone in the semi-finals before coming last in the final. People were starting to wonder whether the 24-year-old had the right stuff. This, emphatically, proved that he did.
