London Diamond League: Oblique Seville Beats Noah Lyles, Akani Simbine in Men’s 100m
- Oblique Seville cruised to a commanding victory in the men's 100m at the London Diamond League on July 19
- The Jamaican star beat a packed field led by the event's Olympic and world champion, Noah Lyles
- The race also featured the 200m Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo, and South African star Akani Simbine
Oblique Seville pulled off the surprise of the afternoon as he beat a star-studded field in the men's 100m at the Novuna London Diamond League.
Source: Getty Images
The Jamaican stormed to an amazing 9.86 seconds to win the men's 100m a few weeks before the World Athletics Championships.
Seville was the only athlete to run a sub-10 race, as Noah Lyles finished second with a time of 10 seconds. Zharnel Hughes was third with 10.02 seconds.
Akani Simbine was fifth after Ackeem Blake, while Letsile Tebogo was seventh.
Noah Lyles' 2025 season
This was only Lyles' second race of the season after winning the 200m at the Monaco Diamond League last week.
The men's 100m Olympic and world champion will be hoping to defend three of the world titles he won in Budapest in 2023 when he competes in Tokyo in September.
How Oblique Seville qualified for World Championships
Seville was fresh from securing his ticket in the Jamaican team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old had suffered an injury scare just before the final at the National Stadium in Kingston but decided to give it a go nonetheless.
He clocked 9.83 seconds to finish behind Kishane Thompson's crazy 9.75 seconds to book his spot in the Jamaican plane to Tokyo.
Source: Getty Images
Simbine, on the other hand, had a perfect start to the 2025 season, winning the first three Diamond League events in Xiamen, Shanghai and Rabat.
He failed to keep up with the pace in London, as he clocked 10.11 seconds.
The South African started the season on a high note when he finally won a senior global medal at the World Indoor championships. He took bronze in the men's 60m behind Jeremiah Azu and Lachlan Kennedy.
World Athletics Championships 100m favourites
Seville's win in London surely increases his odds of pulling off another surprise in Tokyo, but the pressure will be on one of Lyles or Thompson.
Lyles beat Thompson by hundredths of a microsecond to win in Paris last year and if both men are in top shape in Japan, we could be in for another treat.
Other candidates include Simbine, Fred Kerley, with Africa's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, an outside favourite.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi wins in London
In another race, Emmanuel Wanyonyi's brilliant form continued in London as he won the men's 800m at the Olympic Stadium.
Wanyonyi faced stiff competition from his main rival, Marco Arop, but beat him in the home straight.
The Olympic champion will now return home to compete at the national trials as he seeks to secure a ticket to Tokyo.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
