Oblique Seville Claims 100m Gold, Edging Out Noah Lyles in Tokyo Showdown

TOKYO — Jamaica has a new sprint king. Oblique Seville is the fastest man alive.

On Sunday night at Japan National Stadium, the 24-year-old surged down the track in a blistering 9.77 seconds to capture the men’s 100m world championship title, his first major gold medal. He outpaced American star Noah Lyles and heavily favored compatriot Kishane Thompson in a race that cemented him as the future of Jamaican sprinting.

The victory carried history with it: Jamaica’s first 100m gold at a major championship since Usain Bolt’s 2016 Olympic triumph. Bolt himself was in the stands, cheering loudly as Seville delivered the performance he had predicted.

“It’s a pleasure to have Usain watching me,” Seville said afterward. “We’re the next generation.”

Seville’s rise to the top has been anything but smooth. A perennial contender, he’s struggled with nerves on the biggest stage—most painfully at last year’s Olympic final, where he finished last despite looking dominant in the earlier rounds. That same pattern nearly repeated in Tokyo when he stumbled badly out of the blocks in his heat, scraping through in third place.

But from there, everything clicked. Seville won his semifinal in 9.86, then unleashed the race of his life in the final—silencing doubts, exorcising old demons, and securing his place in sprinting history.

For Seville, it was more than just a medal. It was redemption. For Jamaica, it was a reminder: the sprinting empire built by Bolt is alive and well.