Seville runs 9.95 to win packed men's 100m semi at JAAA national championships

World 100-metre champion Oblique Seville stormed to victory in a heavyweight men's semi-final on day two of the JAAA/PUMA National Junior and Senior Championships, stopping the clock at 9.95 with a +0.2 wind reading.

The Racers Track Club star, whose personal best stands at 9.77, had posted 10.09 in qualifying and entered the semi as the fastest man in the field on reputation and recent form. He broke cleanly from lane four and took charge down the stretch to win ahead of Jamaica's leading junior sprinter, Gary Card, who finished second in 10.07.

Rohan Watson, the 2023 national champion who ran 9.91 that year, claimed third in 10.12. Kadrian Goldson was also timed at 10.12 for fourth, leaving both men on a bubble as officials reviewed whether more than the standard three semi-final qualifiers would advance on time.

National under-20 record holder Bouwahjgie Nkrumie, the Champs record holder and the first Jamaican junior to go sub-10 at the boys' championship, crossed in 10.14 from lane eight. Tyquendo Tracey of Dynamic Speed, back on the track after bobsleigh duty, ran 10.25, while overseas-based Travis Williams, despite a strong start from lane three, faded to 10.26.

The line-up had been billed as one of the deepest semi-finals on the card. Beside Seville were Tracey, a former national 100m champion and sub-10 performer; Travis Williams, who qualified in 10.23 with a 10.12 season best; Card, whose best this season is 10.03; Watson; Goldson, a 9.99 performer from Sprint Tech Track Club; and Nkrumie.

Under championship rules, only the top three from each of the two semis are guaranteed a final berth, though up to five from a semi can advance if times merit. With Seville, Card and Watson through, attention shifted to whether Goldson's 10.12 and Nkrumie's 10.14 would be enough to keep them in the hunt for the national 100-metre final later in the evening.