Oblique Seville is fast emerging as one of the most threatening prospects in track and field. Despite not being able to fulfil his dreams of winning an Olympic medal, the Jamaican’s impact on the sport can never be doubted. after all, who can forget Seville’s historic rivalry with the US track phenom, Noah Lyles? Running in Kingston ahead of Paris, Lyles walked in as the firm favourite to win the top spot. However, when the race ended, it was Seville who stood on the top pedestal.

Adding more intrigue to his victory, Seville had a stare-down towards Noah Lyles at the end of the race. Such an act was reminiscent of another Jamaican legend, Usain Bolt. The fastest man on Earth had a knack for staring down at his opponents as he usually cruised to victory. Sharing a close bond with the Bolt family, Seville got the acknowledgement of Bolt’s mother. Heaping praise on the 23-year-old, Bolt’s mother addressed him as her ‘second son’. 

Now then, a sprinter having such a high set of skills is expected to be starting early. And quite unsurprisingly, Seville too was interested in running right from the time he was a small kid. In fact, Seville might have been running much before he saw the daylight in the world! Well, such a hilarious comment has been made by none other than Seville himself. Getting candid on the second season of the Netflix documentary, ‘Sprint’, Seville shared a fun bit of news that his mother told him. 

The 23-year-old track star opined, “I come from a rural community. A small, small community. And everyone knew that I could run. My mom said that I was running in her bed for some reason. I don’t know. But I am one of the smallest sprinters in the world. If not the smallest. And I’m 5’6″. Very short.” As a matter of fact, Oblique Seville shares a very strong bond with his mother. 

Seville’s mom, Juliet, conceived the sprinter when she was 39 years old. After giving birth, Juliet slowly began to realize that her youngest born was meant to do great things in life. Having utter difficulty in making the family run smoothly, both Juliet and Oblique’s father worked hard to keep fuelling his dreams. And now, when most of their hard work has paid off, Seville’s mother could not be more happy. 

Speaking to The Weekend Star, Juliet Seville stated, “He doesn’t like the limelight so, whenever he comes back home, he would just jump inna mi bed and say ‘Mommy a mi and yuh a sleep enuh’. As big as him is, a mi baby. Mi feel good. I am a proud mother today. It wasn’t an easy road for me. His father and I worked really hard to make ends meet.” And well, it was not only his mother who had an impact. Losing his father at a young age, Oblique Seville now runs to honor his father’s dreams.

Oblique Seville revealed his motive for competing in Paris

Oblique Seville was very close with his father, Gerald Seville, since childhood. Introducing him to the sport of track and field, his father had very high hopes for his son. Unfortunately, while Oblique did truly turn out to be a fantastic sprinter, Gerald did not live long enough to see his success. The Jamaican sprinter suffered one of the biggest heartbreaks when he came to know about his father’s untimely demise in 2018. 

Opening up on his father’s death, Seville shared in Sprint season 2, “In 2018 the 7th of December he was riding his bike. Everyone saw him and by the next morning got the message that he passed away. It was a heart attack. Before he died, he said to me that you can do great things.” Since then, Oblique Seville has been running to fulfil his father’s wishes. 

Revealing his motivation to compete in Paris, the Jamaican sprinter stated, “It takes only you, only you alone, to get the job done. That’s the motivation because each time I’m performing I am always thinking I’m going to go there and do this for him… If I do this, I know my dad is going to be happy… He will be there smiling.” Thus, with an immensely supportive family backing him up, it remains to be seen how well the sprinter paces his career in the future.