Oblique Seville Triumphs Over Noah Lyles in Rainy Athletissima Showdown

Lausanne, Aug 21 (AP) - In a rainy showdown at the Athletissima meet, Olympic 100-meter champion Noah Lyles faced another defeat as Oblique Seville clinched victory. The Jamaican sprinter impressed by completing the race in 9.87 seconds, narrowly missing his previous best by just 0.01 seconds, achieved in London last month. Once again, during Lyles' injury-delayed season, he had to settle for second place.

"We can perform even in hurricanes," Seville confidently stated to Swiss broadcaster RTS. "For me, it's just execution and to show my dominance, to separate myself from the field — once again."

Lyles finished with a time of 10.02 in his third consecutive 100-meter loss on the Diamond League circuit. He is preparing to defend his world title in Tokyo next month. Despite trailing at the start, he managed to chase down Ackeem Blake, who started strong in the adjacent lane. Blake shared the same finishing time, placing him third.

"I just had a horrible reaction to the gun," Lyles admitted. "Physically, I feel great, and I am confident every race will get better and better."

Seville's performance follows his eighth-place finish in last year’s Paris Olympics final, where his Jamaican teammate Kishane Thompson was narrowly beaten by Lyles. Thompson currently holds the year's fastest time, clocking 9.75 in June, and recently won in Poland with Lyles coming in second at an encouraging 9.90.

The heavy rainfall also affected the women's field events at the 50th Athletissima meet. High jump world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh halted after one failed attempt at 1.86 meters and another at 1.91 meters. Meanwhile, javelin gold medalist Haruka Kitaguchi placed last, and the women's pole vault event was entirely canceled.

Amid lighter rain earlier in the meet, standout performances included Olympic 800-meter champion Keely Hodgkinson winning in 1 minute, 55.69 seconds, and Cordell Tinch claiming victory in the 110 hurdles with a time of 12.98 seconds.

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