Last month, Oblique Seville ended a nine-year drought for the United States in the 100m, becoming the first American since Usain Bolt in Rio to claim gold at the World Athletics Championships. His performance in the heats was a little shaky, so much so that Noah Lyles jokingly questioned whether Seville could even handle the finals. But on the fateful day, the 24-year-old turned skeptics into believers, delivering a stunning performance that toppled Lyles and the rest of the field. With that victory, Seville didn’t just win a medal; he became the new face of the 100m, and Bayanda Walaza believes he’s a more complete sprinter than anyone else in the world right now.

Recently, the South African stalwart joined Puma for the twelfth episode of the Go Wild Podcast. During the conversation, he was asked the question: if he could train with any athlete in the world, past or present, who would it be? Without hesitation, he named Oblique Seville. The host, visibly surprised, asked why, to which he explained that, in his eyes, Seville is the most complete runner of his generation, a choice that left listeners both intrigued and impressed. “Okay. Surely, I believe he’s one of the best athletes that I’ve seen. He has a good start and actually a fast first finish. And most of the time, as we grow up, knowing that, okay, you need to have one that you rely on,” said the 19-year-old.

He added, “But Seville can start fast and still end fast, and the same as Usain Bolt. Usain Bolt had a bad start. It was not bad, because if you check the times, yeah, you know, he runs fast, he runs fast. But when you look at him running with people, you can say that, okay, this is not a strong point, but his finish is better. Noah Lyles, his start, finish. Coleman is, best starter in the world. Not always the best finish. But Seville has all of that. And I’m kind of wondering, how is it actually possible, you know, to be good with your start and fast finish.”

Two years ago, a 22-year-old Seville came agonizingly close to the world podium, matching silver medalist Letsile Tebogo’s time, only for a photo finish to deny him by four thousandths of a second. Then, in the lightning-fast Olympic final at Paris 2024, he crossed the line in 9.91 seconds, an impressive mark that would have secured fourth place at the Tokyo Games three years earlier, but he was not fortunate enough this time.

Years of relentless, near-miss performances have finally culminated in a hard-earned medal, and that’s not all; he has also won a newfound admiration in the hearts of the next generation. While Walaza might claim that Seville is slightly better than Usain Bolt, Seville himself believes that no one in the world of sprinting can come close to Bolt.

Oblique Seville believes that Usain Bolt is the ultimate athlete

Recently, Usain Bolt, in one of his conversations, doubted that the current crop of sprinters could ever touch the 9.6-second barrier he, Yohan Blake, and Tyson Gay once did. Oblique Seville, who blitzed to Tokyo gold in 9.77 seconds, sees it differently. “In my opinion, it’s just a matter of time before someone is going to run 9.6,” he said, confident that a new record-breaker is on the horizon. Talking about the newer generation, he stated, “I don’t think we are far off in this generation. It just takes us time. Because you have to understand, it was the same back then.”

He further explained that even though the newer generation can touch the mark, it was Bolt who did it in the first place, “No one was running 9.6 until Usain Bolt put his foot in Beijing. So it’s for us now, as a new generation, for us to just meet that step – to prove that we can actually do the same thing that Usain did.  The contrast between Seville and Bolt couldn’t be starker. Bolt towered at 6’5” and weighed around 14st, while Seville stands 5’6” and tips the scales at just 11st 6lb.

Yet, both train under the same mastermind: Glen Mills. It was Mills who always believed Seville had the potential to follow in Bolt’s footsteps and claim the title of the world’s fastest man. “When I just started out with my coach, he said it’s going to take me a few years to get to the podium. And whatever he says, that is what’s going to happen. His words manifested upon me and here I am right now, a gold medallist,” said Seville. Well, his journey has just begun, and it remains to be seen how far he can go.