At the Paris Olympics last year, Oblique Seville could only watch as Noah Lyles clinched the 100m gold, while he finished in eighth. But a year later, the story has flipped. Seville is now the 100m world champion, defeating Lyles multiple times this season. It all seemed to shift at the London Diamond League, where the Jamaican edged out Lyles, but it was in rain-soaked Lausanne where Seville truly stamped his dominance, clocking a blistering 9.87s. Now, the Jamaican speedster has finally revealed what was going through his mind during that defining race.

Fresh off his 100m gold medal triumph, Oblique Seville sat down with Leighton Levy for a candid conversation about his journey and what lies ahead. During the chat, Levy asked the Jamaican star if that was a time that he was hoping to hit, given his blistering form, also noting that it could’ve been even faster if not for the inclement weather.

The 100m world champion admitted that before the Lausanne meet, his coach had already covered all bases with him back at camp. “I knew within myself that there was going to be a personal best. I was so confident that I know even if I started slow or fast, it was going to be a personal best. But I wouldn’t know what it would be,” said Seville.

He further added, “So after the gun burst, and after I saw the rain was falling like that, I said to myself, “I’m going to execute as if I am running in a dry weather condition.’ When I went out there with the mentality and when I stepped up at the line, I said, ‘No, I can’t lose.’ I said to myself, ‘No, I can’t lose this race.'”

The conditions were so bad that he revealed he was nearly withdrawn from the race. But Seville had other ideas. “And my coach said to me that if he was there, he would have pulled me because of the weather, and I said, ‘No, coach,'” he revealed. “But when I crossed that line, I was in 9-8. I didn’t really know what I did till I went home and have a conversation with my coach. And he was telling me, ‘Say boss, this is what you’re doing.’ I was like, ‘Damn!’

It was a momentous win for the 24-year-old, yet the gravity of it only hit much later. “And then I saw some videos—people sending me videos of it breaking it down. I was like, ‘Wow!’ I said, ‘Okay, yes, I’m in a good shape going into Paris.’ So with that being said, I had that confident there from there,” he said.

The Lausanne performance was nothing short of spectacular from the Jamaican star. Just weeks after outpacing Noah Lyles in London, Oblique Seville blazed through the soaked Lausanne track with a sensational 9.87s finish, clinching his Diamond League victory in style.

For Lyles, it marked a third straight 100m defeat, clocking 10.02 to narrowly edge Ackeem Blake in a tense photo finish. Battling relentless rain and slippery conditions, Seville still found his rhythm, proving once again that he has the edge over his American rival.

Speaking to the media after the race, Noah Lyles, who recently returned from a tendon injury, explained that a poor start hindered his performance. “I just had a really bad reaction to the gun after that. There’s not much I could do. It was not the best of conditions, though we expected it.”

Poor start or not, Lyles has endured a frustrating season, plagued by injuries that derailed his momentum. His recovery was so delayed that he only kicked off his season in July, long after many of his competitors were already in peak form. Well, that’s not all; Seville is intensifying his rivalry with Lyles with a bold claim.

Why Oblique Seville thinks Noah Lyles may never be able to beat him

At the Tokyo World Championships heats, Oblique Seville stumbled out of the blocks, catching Noah Lyles’ attention. Reflecting on it, Lyles said, “That man was panicking in the back, but he’s a gamer, so hopefully he will get it back and we will have a great final.”  Well, his comments certainly proved prophetic in the finals, to his Lyles’ own detriment.

Seville stormed the track with a blistering 9.77s, seizing 100m gold and capping off his season in spectacular fashion. Well, his victory was spectacular, but he has come forward to reveal that Noah Lyles might never be able to defeat him.

In conversation with Coach Desk on his YouTube podcast, Seville was matter-of-fact in his analysis. “I analyze myself as an athlete, you know, because I can literally—I don’t study athletes, but I know about sports. For me, just put it this way: if I have a Kishane start and a Noah Lyles finish, think about it,” he said before pausing for emphasis.

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He explained, “So I don’t have to say anything more, which is why Noah Lyles is going to [find it] hard to beat me. Because if you can check the analysis of the race, breaking it down, my start is equivalent, is very fast, and then my finish is equivalent to Noah Lyles’ finish so he’s not going to catch me.” And Seville has the stats to back his claims.

This season, Oblique Seville and Noah Lyles have faced off three times, and on every occasion, Seville emerged victorious—at the Lausanne Diamond League, the London Diamond League, and the World Championships. Whether he can maintain this level of consistency remains to be seen.