“Thank you God for Race Day!” Noah Lyles posted on X before heading into the London Diamond League. For the past three seasons, London’s been his thing — he keeps showing up. Last year, he competed in the men’s 100m event at the contest right after the US Olympic track and field trials. And this year, he chose the event as his season opening in the 100m race. But but but… There was an Oblique Seville this time to spoil the show. And Noah’s reaction? Well…

Before stepping onto the track at the London Diamond League, Oblique Seville showed up with a fresh haircut — a little reset, maybe? Meanwhile, before his own race day in Monaco last week, Noah Lyles had wiped his socials clean. Classic “I’m locked in” move. Now, fast forward to July 18 at a packed London Stadium — Seville had two big missions. First, lock in Jamaica’s spot for the men’s 4x100m relay at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships. Second, settle the score with Lyles after that sting in Paris. Spoiler alert: he nailed both. Bullseye.

First up, Oblique Seville blasted off with a thundering leg in the relay, setting the tone and helping Jamaica seal the win. Mission one: complete. Barely an hour later, he was back on the line — this time, solo in a stacked 100m showdown. The Olympic champions were all there: Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo… but none of them could catch Oblique. He crossed the line first, settling the score with Noah in style. Lyles? He was 0.14 seconds behind. Why? That slow start — the one weakness everyone knows but still can’t believe when it shows up. Yes. The fastest man in the world is still suffering from his old track disease. But could Noah believe that?

After the race, Noah Lyles still threw up the number one sign for the cameras — classic confidence, win or lose. But Oblique Seville? He flipped the script. Remember Paris? In that Olympic semi, he crossed the line, staring straight at Noah — message sent. This time in London, he pointed to his head as he crossed. Smart race? Tactical? You bet. You can’t miss that signal. Then came the celebration — hands raised, soaking it all in. And of course, he capped it off with his signature move: pointing to the crowd, flashing that big, satisfied smile. But here’s the real question — did anyone see this coming? That’s the part that keeps it spicy.

Noah Lyles’s Achilles Heel and Oblique Seville’s determination 

Before the London Diamond League, Noah Lyles sat down at the press conference, and guess whose name popped up? Oblique Seville. Noah admitted, “Seeing Oblique was there and‌ so on and so forth and Akani [Simbine], I’m like, ‘Okay, this is going to be a great race.’” Basically, Seville’s entry pulled Noah into the 100m contest — but did he think much about the result? Not really. He probably banked on his usual script: a slow start, then the signature late charge, just like he pulled off to win in the Paris Olympics final.

Meanwhile, Justin Gatlin was already riding the Seville train. On the Ready Set Go podcast, the Olympic champ was hyped about Oblique’s gutsy run at the Jamaican Championships. Gatlin said, “He [Oblique] ran his race. He came out with second place. He ran 9:83. I mean, that was good for him. I’m glad he’s able to compose himself, get himself back together, calm his body down, and go out there and run one of the fastest times of the season.”

And here’s the kicker — Seville did that while battling brutal leg pain. Oh, and by the way, on the same day, he had already clocked 9.84s in the semis. That’s serious grit. Serious heart. So while Seville’s star keeps rising, Noah Lyles knows the game isn’t over — because if there’s one thing about Noah, it’s that he never lets one loss write the whole story.