BUDAPEST, Hungary, CMC – Jamaican Oblique Seville clocked a personal best 9.86 seconds to win his heat and cruise into the next round of the 100 metres, on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships here yesterday.
Running out of lane seven in heat five, the 21-year-old stormed to the finish ahead of American Fred Kerley (9.99) and Swede Henrik Larsson (10.16).
Seville was one of only four Caribbean sprinters to reach the next round with fellow Jamaicans Ryiem Forde and Rohan Watson, along with Guyanese Emanuel Archibald, also advancing.
Forde finished second in heat one in 10.01 behind Anguilla-born England sprint star Zharnel Hughes who was timed at 10 seconds flat.
Watson, meanwhile, finished second in heat six in 10.11, as Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan ran a season-best 10.07 to win the event.
British Virgin Islands’ Rikkoi Brathwaite (10.18) and Bahamian Terrence Jones (10.32) trailed in fifth and sixth respectively to miss out on qualification for the next round.
Archibald secured his ticket forward when he finished tied for third in the final heat with Hiroki Yanagita of Japan in 10.20, as South African Akani Simbine crossed the line first in 9.97 seconds.
Today will see the semi-finals and the final of the event, along with the heats of the women’s showpiece.