ESPN l Monday, September 15, 2025
New fastest man alive: Oblique Seville upstages Noah Lyles for 100m gold in Tokyo

 Move over, Noah Lyles. There’s a new fastest man on the planet; his name is Oblique Seville. The 24-year-old Jamaican powered over the top of Lyles and highly fancied compatriot Kishane Thompson in the men’s 100m world championship final on Sunday evening in Tokyo, posting a personal best 9.77s to, at long last, capture his first major gold medal. It went exactly as predicted by athletics great and fellow countryman Usain Bolt, who enthusiastically cheered him on from the grandstands of the Japan National Stadium. “It’s a pleasure to have Usain watching me,” said Seville, immediately after the biggest win of his life. “We’re the next generation.” Seville has long been one of the world’s top sprinters but has often let nerves get the better of him in major races, notably last year’s Olympic final in which he finished dead last despite having looked the class of the field through the semifinals. That worrying trend very nearly continued in Japan when Seville almost missed out on a semifinal berth after appearing to be glued to the starting blocks in his heat run. He was able to turn last spot into third place by the finish line to advance, before taking out his semifinal earlier on Sunday evening in a time of 9.86s, then dipping into uncharted territory in an enthralling medal race to vanquish all of those demons from the past. Seville’s triumph gives Jamaica its first gold medal in a 100m major race since Bolt’s 2016 Olympic title. Thompson claimed silver with a run of 9.82s, ahead of Olympic champion Lyles. The American showman ran a...Read more