At the World Athletics Championships, Oblique Seville barely scraped into the men’s 100m final after finishing fourth in his semifinal. Watching from afar, Noah Lyles didn’t hold back, saying, “That man was panicking in the back, but he’s a gamer. Hopefully, he’ll get it back for the final.” A mix of motivation and subtle shade, but it backfired spectacularly. In the final, Seville silenced every doubt, storming to gold with a blistering 9.77s. It was a statement sprint from the Jamaican star, but was it fueled by Lyles’ words?

Noah Lyles seems to be grasping at straws against the Jamaicans. First it was Kishane Thompson, and now it’s Oblique Seville. Lately, his comments appear to be backfiring. During a recent sit-down with ‘Bodega Track’, Seville had a candid conversation about his career, and amidst the chaos, he was asked what went through his mind when Lyles made that statement. Responding coolly to the question, Seville admitted he saw right through Lyles’ mind games, saying, “I’m going to be real with this. I didn’t know what he said until someone said it to me. And when somebody sent it to me, I was dying to run him in the semi-finals.”

When asked if Lyles’ comments got under his skin, Seville didn’t hold back, “Because it pissed me off, and I said to myself, now I see what he’s doing. So I am the weak fence here, he’s trying to get into my head because he knows within himself that he’s not in his best form. So he’s targeting me. He didn’t target Kishane, and he didn’t target Kenny, he kept targeting me.” It’s not the first time Lyles’ mind games have sparked tension. Remember the USATF showdown with Kenny Bednarek? After crossing the finish line, Lyles stared Bednarek down, a move that infuriated Kenny, who later blasted him as “unsportsmanlike.”

Lyles has been catching strays from several people. It took just a few months after that confrontation for him to piss off Seville, but this time, the Jamaican wasn’t about to let Lyles get into his head. “So I said, “Okay, I see where this mind game is going.” Then I said, “Okay, I’m going to just take this step by step. I’m not going to let him get into my head.” And I can say this to myself and to my fans: I cannot blame him for what he did, because that’s what brings rivalry and that’s what makes the sport more fun.”

This season, Oblique Seville has had Noah Lyles’ number. The two sprinters have clashed three times, and each time, the Jamaican came out on top. In Lausanne, Seville blazed to a 9.87 finish, leaving Lyles trailing at 10.02. In London, he did it again with a 9.86, while Lyles could only manage 10.00. And when it mattered most, at the Tokyo World Championships, Seville stormed past Lyles to seize the 100m crown.

This 3-0 scoreline has Seville believing he can handle Lyles with ease. In his conversation with Coach Desk, he confidently stated, “I analyze myself as an athlete, you know, because I can literally—I don’t study athletes, but I know about sports. Which is why Noah Lyles is going to be hard to beat me.” Well, Oblique Seville’s season has been going amazingly after the Paris Olympics scare, but will he be able to stay consistent? Track and Field insiders cast a doubt.

Oblique Seville faces a wake-up call against Noah Lyles

Coach Rob and Anderson Emerole recently caught up to break down the sport’s latest shake-ups. Rob didn’t mince words. Seville’s triumph, he said, is no finish line. The chase is far from over, with hungry rivals ready to test his grip on the throne. Emerole agreed, noting that the field has never been tighter or more cutthroat. The 100m World Champion is young and hungry for recognition, but in the quest for that, athletes forget to stay consistent.

Emerole shared the same sentiment as he expressed, “He ran 9.7, the other guys ran 9.8. So, it was a sizable enough win where it’s like, all right, he convincingly won, but the other guys are still close enough, and it’s still kind of up in the air, like, okay, Kishane could come back and win a gold medal at some point. ‘Cause let’s not forget Oblique—this is the fourth time that Oblique has been in the final.”

Coach Rob chimed in as he stated, “Oblique’s gifted—we all know that. But when we talk about racking up multiple golds, leaving Noah and the others aside, we’re stepping into the realm of the past 20 to 30 years. To dominate at that level, you need more than talent; you need what I call a skill gap—a whole different dimension of ability.” With Seville grabbing the 100m gold, the timeline has changed in favour of Jamaica this time, but will it sustain for long? Time will tell.