Usain Bolt. Oblique Seville. The former represents the past of Jamaican track and field, while the latter represents the future. Seville made his world debut at the 2020 Jamaican Olympic Trials and punched his ticket for the Japanese capital with each. Despite not making it to the 100m finals, he could now call himself an Olympian. For the next two years he found himself falling short of making it to the podium. Once at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. The second time at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. But despite coming fourth, he clocked his personal best of 9.88 seconds.

The legendary sprinter has been keeping an eye on Seville, and shared his observations with Sportsmax earlier this year. Jamaica had left an indelible mark on track and field during his reign. However, they couldn’t replicate what the 4-time Olympian had achieved after his retirement. “But I do think that Oblique has been keeping it alive” With Seville on the track, Bolt thinks things may soon change for the better. Who will guide Oblique Seville and help him turn things around? Let’s find out.

All about Oblique Seville’s Coach, Glen Mills

Glen Mills’ name is synonymous with Jamaica’s track and field history. While he used to head the Jamaican Olympic Athletics team between 1987 to 2009, he is now a head coach at the Racers Track Club in Kingston. Coaching for nearly half a century now, Mills’ tutees have brought Jamaica an outstanding amount of accolades. The legendary coach is known to fine tune his athletes with experience and immense knowledge he has gained over the years.

He has been helping Seville hone his craft since the Olympian was 19-years-old. When Seville failed to clinch a medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, many were curious about what Mills had to say. In a conversation with Jamaica Observer, the coach chalked his inability to step on the podium on his lack of experience. Seville had triumphantly come back from several injuries that season, and Mills made sure to commend him for that effort. “He went very close to getting a medal, much closer than the last time,” he chose to look at the silver lining instead.

Mills elaborated on how despite being disappointed about the result, he was happy to see him enter the championship in the condition that Seville did. He continued, “Unfortunately, inexperience cost him a medal; probably cost him the race and then cost him a medal in the end, based on the fact that we had lost so much time leading up to the trials.” Mills believes that he could have clinched a win if only he had conserved his energy more efficiently.

Despite it all, the coach was happy to see their hard work pay off. “He is getting stronger, we continue to work on technique, but in terms of where he is, I am quite pleased with his development so far.” Mills is particularly preparing the young sprinter for the upcoming Summer Games. And he didn’t disappoint! At the Jamaican Olympic Trials, Seville punched his ticket to the French capital by clocking in 9.82 second in the 100m finals.

The Usain Bolt connection

Apart from being Jamaica’s sprint hope bearers, Oblique Seville and Usain Bolt share another prominent similarity: Glen Mills. The world’s fastest man has 8 Olympic gold medals, all thanks to the training Mills put him through. The Olympian made his debut at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but due to a leg injury was eliminated in the first round of the 200m event. Disheartened, he went on to approach Mills and the rest is history.

We might know Bolt as a legendary sprinter now. But when he first started training with Mills, the coach noticed several discrepancies in his technique. Standing tall at 6 feet 5 inches, Bolt had incredibly weak starts. Quite odd to think about, isn’t it? We now praise his incredible height, working as a catalyst for his speed. But at one point, this very trait used to hinder the talented athlete. Mills decided to focus on the basics and trained him to work on his start form and stride efficiency.

Another thing that his coach didn’t overlook was injury prevention. He wanted to avoid what happened to the Olympian in 2004. After rigorous training, Mills came up with a plan that suited his abilities and needs. In fact, he was also the reason Bolt eventually took up the 400m events. This strategic approach is what turned an athlete into a sprinting legend. Mills wants to do the same with his current tutee, Oblique Seville.

The young sprinter has shown interest in shattering Bolt’s world records. At the Racer Grand Prix 2024, he set a world lead of 9.82 seconds. While he shattered Bolt’s record of 9.88 seconds set in 2016, he will now be coming for his 9.19 seconds record in Paris. With just 19 days to go, will we see Oblique Seville bring home Olympic Glory? Let us know what you think!