Oblique Seville Outshines Noah Lyles At Diamond League

 

Though a few hundredths of a second shy of breaking the world record set by Usain Bolt, Onlique Seville blasted down the tracks and outshone Noah Lyles in the 100m at the Diamond League in London, United Kingdom. 

Lyles was the favourite tipped to clinch the season-opening 100m following his stellar performance at the Olympics. That expectation turned out to be different as the American was beaten neatly to finish in second place behind the Jamaican athlete. 

"I was the only one to run under 10 seconds today," said Seville afterwards. "It is something special and phenomenal heading into a major championship later this year." 

Seville finished first in 9.86 seconds, and Lyles in second place in 10.00 seconds. Lyles had a slow start to the starter's gun, but picked up on the pace midway, narrowly outpacing British athlete Zharmel Hughes, who finished third in 10.02 seconds. 

"I feel extremely healthy and I am feeling no pain," said Lyles. "Of course, there is the moment when you cross the line and you are like, I did not get it this time. But the most important thing was not to panic, to make sure that I hit all the positions regardless." 

Seville's performance was an improvement from his previous performance at the last Olympics. Lyles won the gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. He finished fastest in 9.79 seconds while Seville finished sixth in 9.91 seconds.