Tokyo (AFP) – Oblique Seville won Jamaica’s first men’s world 100m title in 10 years after outpacing Kishane Thompson and defending champion Noah Lyles for gold in Tokyo on Sunday. Seville timed a personal best of 9.77sec for the victory, with Thompson taking silver in 9.82sec while Lyles claimed bronze with a time of 9.89sec. It was the Caribbean island’s first world sprint title since Usain Bolt, watching from the stands, won the 100m and 200m double at the 2015 world championships in Beijing.
“It’s an excellent feeling,” said Seville. “The last time a Jamaican got the title was in 2015 and that was Usain Bolt. I feel really amazing and excited that the gold is coming home to Jamaica. I have proved that I am a true competitor, that I have the determination of a champion.” Seville said he had come good on his finish. “Finishing strong in the last 30 to 40 metres was something I was struggling with the whole season, I just didn’t recognise it. Now I have perfected it and I was confident that if I could do it in the final, I would win. I knew if I had a strong finish, the others will not catch me.”
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Bolt, an 11-time world champion, had bet on a Jamaican 1-2 in this 100m, outspokenly backing both Thompson and Seville to beat Olympic champion Lyles. And it proved to be an astute reading of form and technique. Bolt erupted in cheers when the Jamaican duo raced through the line. Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier” boomed over the tannoy as the sizeable Jamaican fan contingent cheered in delight, with 24-year-old Seville responding by ripping open the top of his one-piece sprint suit.
Ever the showman, Lyles, in lane four outside Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi, was given a rapturous welcome by a packed National Stadium. As his image appeared on two giant screens, the 28-year-old American theatrically thrust up his hands. Thompson, much more subdued, was in lane five, American Kenny Bednarek in six, a calm Seville in seven, and Botswana’s Olympic silver medallist Letsile Tebogo in eight. Akani Simbine and Gift Leotlela, the two South Africans who qualified as the next two fastest from the semi-finals, were drawn in lanes one and nine respectively.
There was drama, however, as Tebogo false started. So blatant was his pre-emptive stumble forward that the officials had no hesitation in showing him a straight red card. The Botswanan offered a round of applause to a muted crowd as he exited in a sad end to his day. The seven remaining sprinters were recalled and re-settled into the blocks, with the starter shushing a crowd now back buzzing in anticipation.
On the second time of calling, Lyles — not known for his fast starts — was left in the wake of Thompson and Seville, who fairly hared away. The American’s top-end speed in the last third of the race is legendary, but he had left himself far too much to do. Thompson arguably got out to the best start from his blocks, propelling his huge frame into a lead that he only ceded to Seville in the very final metres. As flags waved and whistles blew, the moment belonged to Jamaica and the potential arrival of a new dynasty of sprinters able to mix it once more with the elite of the United States.
© 2024 AFP
