Noah Lyles is well aware of where to strike his competitors, and he never hesitates to voice it out loud. The Olympic gold medalist, who was battle-ready, had just begun his outdoor season in July and came to Tokyo with great confidence, having sustained a groin injury. However, he managed to run his 100m heat in 9.95 seconds. But Oblique Seville, in Heat 1, got off to a slow start, barely grabbing the third automatic qualifying spot with a time of 9.93 seconds. Lyles noticed, “Yeah, I knew that was gonna happen.” He said, “That man was panicking in the back.” Sharp words, no doubt. But Lyles grossly miscalculated the intensity of the Jamaican sprinter.

In the Tokyo 100m final, Seville set his personal best of 9.77 seconds leaving Kishane Thompson (9.82) and Noah Lyles (9.89) in his wake. With his victory at the Japan National Stadium, Seville became Jamaica’s first world champion in 100m since Usain Bolt in 2015. The performance was sufficient to shut Noah Lyles by the greatest part. Did Seville say anything? Yes! But after reaching home!

As recently, the Jamaica Observer asked Seville on X how the gold medal had changed his life, his answer was honest, raw, and revealing: “It changed my life a lot because to think about it..if you look at it to come from hate at the Olympic Games and to actually win a gold medal at the World Championship that shows a lot of resilience.” That’s not all!

Seville further added, “Not just because people are saying that I have mental problems and all those things, but what I have done now has proven that my mental health and everything is quite fine.” He added, “It’s just that I was always unfortunate with injuries over the years, so this is the time where I show my class and my dominance on the professional stage of my career.”And honestly, after this year, it’s hard to argue, but his path to this point tells another story.

Noah Lyles’ rival, Oblique Seville, opens up on why heat one didn’t go smoothly

There was a reason Seville got off to a slow start in the heats at the World Athletics Championships, and he didn’t shy away from admitting it. When asked about the rocky beginning, he explained, “You will not always get the perfect start… I’ve learned my lesson both ways.” He reacted cautiously at first, acknowledging that personal issues had played a part but refusing to go into detail, simply adding, “Everything was okay.” Once he found his rhythm, there was no stopping him. In fact, at times, he was even faster than Noah Lyles, and the proof came quickly.

Even last year, Seville defeated Lyles in a world record of 9.82 seconds against 9.85 by Lyles in the 2024 Racers Grand Prix at Kingston. He might have sustained injuries, which slowed him down, yet his talent never deserted him. Even when Lyles himself had a strong race after his injury, the American stated, “You always want the gold, but it’s been a crazy season injury, rushing my season to get as many races in. I came out here, got my best start, my best race of the year. I’m never going to be disappointed in that.”

As far as Seville is concerned, his season is quite different. He has had years of bad luck with injuries, and who knows, had he been entirely healthy in Paris, he would have clinched a win in the French capital. The takeaway? When Seville is healthy and focused and in rhythm, there is nothing that can stop him.