Oblique Seville Finally Reveals the Chaos Behind His Lausanne Diamond League Win Over Noah Lyles

Oblique Seville has opened up about the series of events that worked against his favour at the Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne before he won the men’s 100m ahead of Noah Lyles.

First, the event was significantly impacted by heavy rain and cool, wet conditions. The event, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on August 20, 2025, was characterised by challenging weather, which tested the athletes, organisers, and the track itself.

However, despite the difficult conditions, many athletes showed resilience and delivered world-class performances, including Oblique Seville, who stunned a strong field to win the men’s 100m race.

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The reigning world 100m champion clocked 9.87 seconds ahead of Noah Lyles, who timed 10.02 seconds. Ackeem Blake finished second in the race.

Oblique Seville revealed that the events in Lausanne became an important lesson for him. Before the race, a heavy downpour and the realisation that his spikes were still at the hotel left him questioning whether he was even meant to compete that day.

The reigning world champion reached out to his therapist, who helped ensure the shoes were retrieved just moments before the race.

Oblique Seville admitted he felt anxious and unprepared, warming up in regular shoes while the others were already getting comfortable on the track.

By the time his spikes arrived, he barely had a moment to test them before being rushed to the start line, a situation he described as both stressful and deeply humbling.

“I was there and I was a bit nervous. I'm not going to lie about that because I thought it was unprofessional of me. I left my tool, my spikes,” Oblique Seville said in an interview with Ato Boldon.

“So, I was there striding out in my shoes while everyone was there striding out with their spikes. So, I didn't get any chance at all to run to do any striding out in my spikes. So, I think I'll just get like about one, and then they said it's time to go. I was like damn, I said okay.”

Oblique Seville shared that once he stepped onto the track and saw the heavy rain, the nerves kicked in.

However, by the time he reached the starting line, he had mentally flipped the situation in his favour. In his mind, he had already won, and he reminded himself to approach the race with the same confidence and precision he had shown in previous competitions.

When the race began and he surged ahead early, he realised his plan was working exactly as he had envisioned.

“So when I went out there, I saw the rain was pouring heavily. I was like, yes, I was a bit nervous. And when I lined up in that line, I said, ‘Okay, I can't lose. I can see that I switched, and I said to myself, I cannot lose this. This I already won before the race started in my head.’,” he added.

“And I said to myself, I'm going to execute this race just as I executed in London. Just as I'm running into dry weather conditions. And when the gun went off, I said, ‘Oh, damn. I'm in the lead.’

“And I knew for a fact, one of the things that gave me this confidence, I knew for a fact that I was going to run a personal best regardless of my getting a bad start or a good start because of the form that I was in. But I actually got a good start and was like, okay.”

Oblique Seville admitted that his determination to run a personal best was so strong that he leaned into the finish long before reaching the line.

After crossing it, he was surprised by the outcome and didn’t fully grasp what he had achieved in the moment.

It was not until he returned to the hotel, watched the race back and heard everyone discussing the difficult conditions that he realised just how impressive his performance had been.

“Because in my head, I said, I want this personal best, which is why I was dipping so early before I reached the line. And when I crossed that line, I was a bit shocked, but I never really realised what I really did, to be honest,” he added.

Despite a chaotic build-up, unforgiving weather and a moment of panic that nearly derailed his race before it even began, Oblique Seville left Lausanne with a powerful reminder of his own resilience and belief, on top of his victory.