Seville ready to deliver again

In the early stages of his professional career, Oblique Seville was running to finishes that made him Jamaica’s nearly man in track and field.

A crowning achievement as 100 metres World champion has swiftly transformed the outlook for the sprinter. Now, the competitor is basking in who he has become – the hunted.

“Now that I’m the champion, everyone wants to beat you when you step out on the track. It’s like I’ve got a target on my back,” remarked Seville, who also spoke of his mental fortitude and the sprint rivalry between Jamaica and the United States.

FIRST MAJOR MEDAL

The former Calabar High standout won his first major gold medal in September last year, clocking 9.77 seconds in the men’s 100m final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Twice, in prior World Champs finals, the Jamaican fell agonisingly short of a medal, fourth in 2002 and the following year in Budapest when he was edged by second-placed Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, and Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, his training partner, who placed third.

Seville, Tebogo and Hughes all recorded the same time in that 2023 final, 9.88 seconds.

Noah Lyles of the United States, in 9.83, was the clear winner.

As if predicting the Tokyo gold medal, Seville’s coach, Glen Mills, reflected then, that  “... when I started working with him, I remember telling him that he was not going to be at his best until he matured at around 24 (years)”.

Which is the stage where Seville laid down his marker.

“When you’re on top, everyone out there is going to want to beat you. So it gives you another motivation as to why you have to win each time you go out there to perform. For me, personally, I’m just going to dominate the sport of track and field,” he said, in this interview, following a recent Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) presentation ceremony, where eight national sporting representatives were awarded Olympic Solidarity scholarships.

Seville expressed gratitude and said “you have some athletes out there who really need help. What the JOA has done right now is something good for the athletes coming up for the future.”

Even though he only turned 25 in March, Seville, who was born in St Thomas, urged up-and-coming athletes “don’t give up on your dreams”.

“There are going to be hard times, but use those hard times to make you the person you are going to be in the future.”

Looking at his path, the advice is sober, as each time he failed to deliver on the big occasion, it wasn’t Seville’s class, but mentality, that was questioned.

A last-place finish in the 2024 men’s 100m Olympic final, which was preceded by a 9.81-second semi-final run, factored into that discourse.

“Honestly, through the years that I’ve been making the finals, it was always about my fitness, not about my mentality. And it’s always unfortunate that, in the finals things do happen to me, which shows a different side, that I may have a mental issue. But no, I am self-driven and my mentality is very great,” Seville stated with confidence.

“I always say this to myself; track and field is more mental than physical. There are going to be some times where you’re going to have some injuries, and what defines you is your mentality to bounce back from that injury.”

He has competed twice this season, winning the men’s 100m at the JAAA/Puma meet on May 31 at the National Stadium, in 9.96 seconds; then finished third at the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in Texas the following  week in 9.90. American Trayvon Bromell was first in 9.85.

Bromell’s countryman Lyles has been leading the familiar United States’ charge against Jamaica in recent times.

“I look forward to it all the time, I look forward to racing Noah all the time,” said Seville. “I look forward to racing any American, because that’s the era in which I grew up, seeing Bolt (Usain) and Gatlin (Justin). So we have to continue that rivalry, and that rivalry brings a lot of support to the sport, so it’s going to continue.”

The continuation extends to the current JAAA National Junior and Senior Championships, and Seville made note of his recent races.

“The preparation has been good ... I ran two races in about a week. I’m pretty good where I’m at, but not pleased,” he said. “But I know for sure when it comes down to the important part of the season, I will deliver.”