Jamaican speedster Oblique Seville delivered a stunning upset with a resounding victory over reigning Olympic champion Noah Lyles in the men’s 100m at the 2025 London Diamond League meeting on Saturday (19 July).
Seville raced to victory in a time of 9.86 seconds, holding off a stellar field, which included Olympic 100m champion Lyles, Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, and South Africa’s Akani Simbine,
Lyles, who lined up for his first 100m since he was crowned Olympic champion in Paris 2024, crossed the line in a time of 10.00.
The race was billed as the battle of the Olympic short-sprint champions, with Tebogo and Lyles renewing their rivalry. In the most recent instalment of their tit-for-tat battle, Lyles had come out on top, beating Tebogo in his pet 200m at the Monaco Diamond League meeting.
But this day belonged to Seville, who was like a rocket out of the blocks at the London Stadium, leaving Lyles and the rest of the field chasing his heels on the track where the 2012 Olympics took place. Seville had time to celebrate in style as he raised his left index finger before crossing the finish. Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes rounded out the podium in third place with 10.02.”
“I am proud of how I ran amongst a stacked field, and to win. I was the only one to run under 10 seconds today, it is something special and phenomenal heading into a major championship later this year,” Seville told the Diamond League website, looking ahead to the World Championships.
“Everything I have been practising in training, I delivered out there today. Coming out here and performing against these athletes makes me want to push a little harder. London is the place I wanted to run, so to get the Diamond League win here is very special to me.”