With Usain Bolt watching, Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson went one-two in the men’s 100m at the World Track and Field Championships, putting Jamaica back on top for the first time since Bolt retired in 2017.
American Noah Lyles, the 2023 World champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist, took bronze, his first defeat in a global championship 100m at any age level.
Seville, who is coached by Bolt’s career-long coach Glen Mills, rallied past Thompson to win in 9.77 seconds.
Thompson, the 2024 Olympic silver medalist, followed in 9.82, and then Lyles in 9.89, his best time since winning the Paris Olympic title in a personal best 9.79.
TRACK AND FIELD WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule
“I want to see (Bolt) to have a word with him because he has told the world that I am going to be the champion,” said Seville, who at 5 feet, 7 inches is 10 inches shorter than Bolt, who attended Sunday night’s session. “But everyone ignores what he said. Now I have proven, even in front of him, that I am the champion.”
Seville, a 24-year-old who has run fast in early rounds but never previously won a 100m medal, became the first Jamaican man to win a global 100m title since Bolt at the 2016 Olympics.
At the 2022 Worlds, Seville was fastest in the semifinals, then placed fourth in the final. At the 2023 Worlds, he had the fastest time in any round going into the final, then placed fourth again. In the 2024 Olympics, he was second-fastest in the semifinals, then last in the eight-man final.
“It’s a new chapter for me, winning the gold,” he said after running a personal best in the final. “Over the years, I’ve shown my talent and shown my class that I am a medal contender.”
Lyles was set back in the spring by an ankle injury.
“It was a short season with injury, not a lot of races under my belt,” said Lyles, who hopes on Friday to win a fourth consecutive world title in the 200m. “But, hey, every time I showed up here, I was running faster and better than I ever have. I was very excited with the things that I saw today.”
World Championships highlights, including the men’s and women’s 100m, air Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Worlds continue later Sunday with the men’s marathon (6:30 p.m., CNBC and Peacock).
The next finals session in the stadium is Monday at 5:15 a.m. ET (Peacock) and 6:30 a.m. ET (USA Network), featuring the women’s 100m hurdles and men’s pole vault.
World Track and Field Championships Results — Men’s 100m
Gold: Oblique Seville (JAM) — 9.77
Silver: Kishane Thompson (JAM) — 9.82
Bronze: Noah Lyles (USA) — 9.89
4. Kenny Bednarek (USA) — 9.92
5. Gift Leotlela (RSA) — 9.95
6. Kayinsola Ajayi (NGR) — 10.00
7. Akani Simbine (RSA) — 10.04
DQ. Letsile Tebogo (BOT)
