Can Oblique Seville defeat Noah Lyles again? A look at Jamaican's outdoor performances as he competes in Paris Olympics 2024

Oblique Seville is one of the rising names in Jamaican track and field, and he has proved his prospect as a formidable athlete after finishing faster than many top athletes including Noah Lyles at the Paris Olympics.He defeated Lyles at the Racers Grand Prix in the 100m dash earlier this year. He has also secured his first Olympic berth at the Jamaican trials after securing second place in the 100m event behind Kishane Thompson after clocking 9.82s.

Seville has raised speculation about whether he can defeat Noah Lyles after beating him once at the Racers Grand Prix on June 1. The Jamaican athlete ran a personal best and world-leading time of 9.82s in the 100 m, and Lyles secured the second position with a time of 9.85s.

Along with this, the 23-year-old also clocked more than Lyles during the Olympic trials. He recorded 9.82 seconds in the 100m during the Jamaican trials, and the American sprinter, on the other hand, recorded 9.83s in the same event at the US trials. Prior to this, Seville also impressed at Velocity Fest 14 by lowering his 200m personal best time to 20.17s in Kingston, Jamaica.

Oblique Seville's other notable wins

Another notable performance by the Jamaican athlete in 2024 was at the Adidas Atlanta City Games at Piedmont Park. He again surpassed his 200m personal best set in March by clocking 19.96s and stood atop the podium. He defeated Jereem Richards, who recorded 20.04s. After accomplishing this triumph, Seville said:

"It was my first time running the 200m in the street and to be honest, it's very hard because it's hard to distribute your speed and know when and where you should make a move, so it was kind of a bit difficult for me but I just use my experience from the 200m run to execute my race." (0:33-0:51)

However, Noah Lyles's 200m PB is way ahead of Oblique Seville. The American holds a personal best of 19.31s, which is the American record and the fourth-fastest of all time. He has also produced several remarkable performances in the course of his career and has multiple wins that the Jamaican athlete has not yet accomplished, such as the World Championship title, and the American is a '3-peat' World Champion.

So, the fact that Seville can defeat Lyles cannot yet be assured, however, it is going to be a neck-to-neck showdown between the athletes in the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Oblique Seville opens up about defeating Noah Lyles at the Racers Grand Prix

Oblique Seville was ecstatic after his win against Noah Lyles at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Jamaica. He said he was working on execution with his coach, and that paid off during the 100m. He was also happy to complete his race without any injuries, having missed last year's edition due to injury. (as quoted by Wolrd Athletics)

"My coach and I have been working on execution throughout the month, and tonight, the work thet I put in has paid off," Oblique Seville said. "It is a tremendous feeling as last year I didn't compete due to injuries. This year I'm happy to get a personal best and win in front of my Jamaican fans."

Lyles, after getting trounced by Seville, said that he was "satisfied with the race", but wasn't happy with the starter.

"I was satisfied with the performance but disappointed with the starter," Lyles said. "Half of us were not even set when the gun went. Overall, the race was great; I came out here and ran exactly what I thought I would run, which is anywhere faster than 9.88s."

Lyles also shared a tweet on X, that read:

"Oh yahh... I'll remember this! See you in Paris @ObliqueSeville."

Noah Lyles and Oblique Seville will be seen competing against each other in Semi-Final 1 of the 100m event at the Paris Olympics, which is slated to be held on August 4, 2024, at 2:05 pm ET.