Seville faces off with Lyles again

OBLIQUE SEVILLE will renew his rivalry with the United States’ Noah Lyles in the men’s 100 metres when the 13th leg of the Wanda Diamond League gets under way tomorrow in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Seville, who defeated the American at the London Diamond League in 9.86 seconds to Lyles’ 10.00, will be one of eight Jamaicans competing, following the late withdrawals of world leader Kishane Thompson from the men’s 100m and defending women’s world 200m champion Shericka Jackson from the women’s 200m. Both were winners last weekend at the Silesia meet in Poland.

Even without Thompson, the men’s 100m should be highly competitive. Seville will want to prove his win over Lyles was no fluke. He leads their head-to-head 2-1, having beaten him last year at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston. Lyles evened the score at the Paris Olympics, where Seville was pushed back to eighth.

Since finishing second to Seville in London, Lyles has shown signs of returning to form. At Silesia, he ran his first sub-10 of the season, clocking 9.90 for second behind Thompson. Seville, known for his explosive starts, will look to hold off Lyles’ trademark late surge as both aim to make a statement.

Also adding intrigue to the race are Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, winner at the British Championships, Courtney Lindsey of the United States, runner up at their national championships, Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, and South Africa’s Akani Simbine, the Diamond League leader.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, Jamaicans Ackera Nugent and Megan Tapper will be aiming to bounce back after finishing seventh and ninth at Silesia. They face another stacked line-up, led by world leader Masai Russell of the United States, who won in Silesia in a meet-record 12.19.

Also in the field are Alaysha Johnson, who was second in Silesia in a personal-best 12.24, and Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, who was third in 12.25.

Nadine Visser of the Netherlands, who set a personal-best 12.28 in the preliminaries at Silesia, will also be one to watch. She looked set to win the final but faltered at the seventh hurdle, and will be eager to make amends.

Jamaica will also be represented in the field events. Wayne Pinnock, Carey McLeod, and Tajay Gayle will contest the men’s long jump, while Rajindra Campbell lines up in the men’s shot put.