After three electrifying semi-final rounds of the 100m on Sunday, Oblique Seville announced himself as a possible contender for the gold medal in the blue-ribbon sprint at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday.

Seville will be joined by compatriot Ryiem Forde in the event that will crown a new champion this year, as defending champion  Fred Kerley was eliminated after finishing third in Seville’s heat.

Seville exploded from the blocks in the last of the three heats and took control mid-race before easing across the line in 9.90 and looking like he had much more in the tank. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana clinched the other automatic qualifying spot when he finished second on 9.98.

The big surprise was Kerley, the 2022 champion, who looked out of sorts while finishing third in 10.02 and will take no further part in the competition.

Noah Lyles, the brash American, who said he was going to win the gold medal in 9.65, stormed to victory in his semi-final heat in 9.87 punching the air as he crossed the line as he booked his place in the final. Japan’s Abdul Sani-Brown ran a personal best 9.97 to book his spot.

Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala who was third in 10.01 and who was on the bubble and dependent on how the other heats unfolded, celebrated his spot in the final as his time was 0.01 faster than Kerley’s.

Jamaica’s champion Rohan Watson missed out on a berth in the final when he finished fifth in the heat in 10.07.

Christian Coleman raced to a time of 9.88 to win the second semi-final heat comfortably ahead of Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, who clocked 9.93 for second place. Forde ran a personal best 9.95 for third place and a spot in the final.