Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson in the 100m final at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 (© Getty Images)
August of this year marked a full decade since a Jamaican athlete had won the men’s 100m title at the World Athletics Championships.
The Caribbean island may be a tiny nation in terms of land mass and population, but they’re a powerhouse in the sprinting world. Sprint legend Usain Bolt won three world 100m titles between 2009 and 2015; Yohan Blake’s gold in 2011 made it four in a row for Jamaica.
But following Bolt’s last triumph in 2015, the four world 100m titles since then have all been won by US men.
Until this year.
Heading into the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, Jamaican duo Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville both had high hopes. Thompson had earned Olympic silver in 2024 and was the world leader. Seville, meanwhile, had narrowly missed the podium at the last two editions of the World Championships but carried strong momentum into Tokyo after winning at the Diamond League meetings in London and Lausanne.
Even Bolt himself – speaking in an exclusive World Athletics video feature – said prior to the 100m final in Tokyo that both men were ready to compete for gold.
“Last year was Kishane’s first real test, but he’s more ready this year,” said Bolt. “Oblique has been in so many finals and just missed out on medals. Mentally, he’s ready.”
The video feature follows the Jamaican duo through the rounds of the 100m in Tokyo. Seville was somewhat taken by surprise when his 9.93 run in the first round was only good enough for third place. He responded with a 9.86 victory in the semifinals to book his place in the final.
Thompson, meanwhile, won his heat in 9.95 and then tied with USA’s Kenny Bednarek in the semifinals, both clocking 9.85.
“Everyone knows my story of being held back because of injury,” says Thompson. “I’ve got a lot of battle experience. It allows me to know how much more capable I am.”
In the final, though, Seville strode clear of the field to win by the relatively comfortable margin of 0.05, clocking a lifetime best of 9.77 to end the Jamaican drought.
“I learned from my mistake last year,” he said in reference to his performance in the Olympic final where he finished eighth. “This year I said, ‘okay, this is my year and I’m going to take this moment, and no one is going to take it away from me’.”
He was right.
Interview and video production by Marta Gorczyńska for World Athletics
