Seville eyes Paris podium

FOLLOWING BACK-TO-BACK fourth-place finishes at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships, Seville hopes to get on the podium this summer at the Paris Olympic Games.

The 23-year-old sprinter has shown positive signs so far this season, clocking 47.44 seconds for his season’s opener in the 400 metres at the Camperdown Classics before a speedy 20.17-second clocking in the 200 at Velocity Fest.

He said his times this season are proof his training in a bid to better his previous outings is on track.

“The 47 and the 20.1 that I’ve run this year have shown my dedication and my hard work, so it’s a possibility that I can make it on the podium this year but hopefully it works out according to God’s plan.

“My training is going very well. It just has to maintain that level right now. So once I maintain that then anything is possible,” he said.

Seville is scheduled to compete at the Racers Grand Prix on June 1 and will face one of those certainly in line for a podium spot over 100 metres in Paris, reigning double sprint world champion, Noah Lyles.

Seville said he is looking forward to competing against Lyles, calling it a test to see where he stands against the best sprinters in the world.

He also said it will be a special race as the two will face off in Jamaica at the National Stadium.

“It is good to compete in front of your home fans because it actually builds you for the Championships,” he said.

“It’s good to compete against Noah Lyles because the first time I competed against him was at the World Championships final, so it’s good to compete with him this early to know what’s to come in the Olympics.”

However, Seville admitted that Lyles is not his only competition this season. According to Seville, he is expecting a challenge from fellow Jamaican sprinters for a spot on the nation’s Olympic team.

He believes the competition for the right to represent Jamaica will be more intense this year with more sprinters coming to the fore.

“The competition in Jamaica is very intense. It is more intense this year than it was last year because everyone is basically at the same trajectory, so it will be the best performance on the day that will get the title.”