"I'll remember this" - Noah Lyles reacts to Oblique Seville looking at him moments before crossing 100m finish line at Racers Grand Prix

Noah Lyles threw an open challenge to Oblique Seville after facing defeat in the 100m at the 2024 Racers Grand Prix. Just 54 days to the Paris Olympics, Seville's achievement has secured his name alongside Lyles among the top Paris contenders.

Lyles, 26, unleashed his prowess at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, the event that made him a three-peat icon. His 100m time of 9.83s was not only world-leading but also a personal best. Seville, having graced the same line-up, finished fourth, 0.05s behind the American.

Coming into 2024, Seville lowered his personal best 200m time and went sub20 at the next stop, the Adidas Atlanta City Games. It is the same event where Lyles set an American record in the 150m, clocking 14.41s.

Fresh off their wins in Atlanta, Lyles, and Seville shared the 100m line-up at the Racers Grand Prix. Most dramatically, Oblique Seville looked at his older counterpart before crossing the finish line. His winning time of 9.82s was not only a world lead but also 0.01s faster than Lyles' personal best (9.83s).

Taking a screenshot of the race preview, Lyles took to his X post to throw a direct challenge to Seville. The latter's look while crossing the finish line didn't sit with the six-time World Champion well and he summoned the Jamaican for the most anticipated showdown in Paris.

"Oh yah… I’ll remember this! See you in Paris @ObliqueSeville," Lyles wrote.

Seville caught the attention of the track great Usain Bolt, who thought that his 2022 World Championships 100m fourth-winning performance "was very impressive" (via World Athletics).

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Noah Lyles on matching Usain Bolt's position: "One bite at a time"

Noah Lyles, who aims to earn four golds in Paris, has Bolt's world records in mind as well. He wants to be called ‘the next Usain Bolt', targeting the 2009 World Championships 100m and 200m times of the Jamaican great, which set the track world alight.

In a 2024 interview with Dazed, Lyles said how his journey to reach the records has been slow and steady:

"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Lyles' 200m personal best is 19.31s, 0.12s short of Usain Bolt's world record time. The former's 100m PB of 9.83s is 0.25 away from Bolt's record time of 9.58s. The Paris Olympics will be a good opportunity for the Olympic silver medalist to lower these record times.