As he gets ready to run his second 100m this season at the Miramar South Florida Invitational in Florida this weekend, 2022 World Championship finalist Oblique Seville reveals he does not feel pressured by public expectations with his only focus being running faster than his personal best of 9.86 this season.

Jamaican fans spoiled by Usain Bolt, who won three consecutive 100 and 200m titles at the Olympics between 2008 and 2016 and a similar number of gold medals at the World Championships in 2009, 2013 and 2015 in both sprints, have been frustrated by the island’s seemingly inability to find someone to fill his massive shoes.

Seville, who made it to the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics and the finals of last year’s World Championships, has teased the Jamaican fan based about his prospects for the future. The former Calabar High School sprinter, who while at the Jamaica Pegasus on Tuesday was named among the athletes confirmed for the 2023 Racers Grand Prix in Kingston on June 3, told Sportsmax.TV, public expectations come with the territory.

“When you put yourself at a certain level, you have to expect the expectations from the people. You have to expect the expectations because you are the one who put yourself in that position so it’s just for you to fulfill the best you can be and the best version of yourself,” he said.

Seville, who turned 22 in March, said he is now healthy having overcome an injury that had impacted his preparations and is looking forward to the season ahead. He opened his season with a 60m dash running 6.42 at the Gibson/McCook Relays in February and is now working on being better than ever.

“Racers Grand Prix is preparation for the National trials. The little niggle that I had before I ran at the Gibson/McCook Relays, was a little back issue. I have recovered from it and going forward this season, I want to go under 9.86 (his personal best), that’s my aim for now and I’ll take it from there,” he said.

After finishing just outside the medals in the 100m finals at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, Seville said he came away with very important lessons that will make him a better sprinter when going up against the world’s best.

“The World Championship finals taught me a lot of things about what I should work on this season,” he said. “My biggest downfall was my start and I am now working on it. I will take my time and coach (Glen Mills) has been patient with me so I will see what I can do this season.”

Several Jamaicans have been listed for the preliminary rounds of the 100m on Saturday, including Ackeem Blake, Michael Campbell, Andrew Hudson and Oshane Bailey. The meet has also attracted Cejhae Green of Antigua and Barbuda, Eric Harrison Jr of Trinidad and Tobago and Ian Kerr of the Bahamas.

Akeem Bloomfield has moved to allay fears that he had suffered a long-term injury when he fell during the 200m at last weekend’s Miramar South Florida Invitational.

Bloomfield, who is based in Florida at MVP International, stumbled and fell at the top of the straightway in the half-lap sprint and was seen clutching his leg while grimacing in pain. He was eventually helped off the track, triggering fears that he would have been out for some time, perhaps for the remainder of the season.

With the Jamaican Olympic trials coming up in June, there were even fears that he would not be able to compete and try to book a spot in the country’s contingent for the summer Olympics in Tokyo.

However, after an MRI examination, the 200/400m athlete posted some encouraging words on Instagram that would have his many fans breathing a collective sigh of relief.

“It did look like a bad injury on TV but the MRI results showed that there was no major tear or damage,” a relieved Bloomfield posted on Instagram.

Notwithstanding the good news, Bloomfield revealed that he is still in some amount of discomfort.

“My right glute and hamstring contracted really bad and as of right now are just really inflamed,” he said.

“I am expected to make a full recovery and hopefully I will be back in training soon.

“Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to reach out. The support means a lot.”

Natalliah Whyte was well pleased with her 100m outing at the Miramar South Florida Invitational on Saturday but she is hoping that she will go much faster as the season progresses. Whyte was third in 11.16 behind runaway winner Sha’ Carri Richardson, who ran a jaw-dropping 10.72s, the fastest time in the world this year.

The 23-year-old Jamaican, who ran the lead-off leg for Jamaica’s gold medal-winning 4x100 relay team at the World Championships in Doha in 2019, had run even faster in the preliminary round clocking 11.07s, her season-best.

However, taking the two races together, Whyte said she was happy with the overall performance.

“The first 100 metres of the season after not competing or doing much due to Covid this time last year, and with a time of 11.07 in the heats and 11.16 in the finals, I am satisfied,” she told Sportsmax.TV following her race.

She explained that the races were meant to provide her and her coach with indicators of what her progress is this season.

“It’s really just taking each race at a time and finding out my weak points and working on those so I can put everything together to get that perfect race,” said Whyte, who trains with Puma MVP International at their base at the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

“I was hoping to go faster in the final run but, as I said, the race wasn’t perfect but there is still room for improvement. It’s the first race of the season and I think everything will come together as I move forward.”

Whyte did not compete indoors during the winter but does not believe it had any impact on her performances outdoors where she has run two 200m races recording times of 22.88 and 23.28 on March 20 and April 4, respectively.

“Not competing indoors doesn’t give you that early push that pushes you into outdoor. So basically, just training doesn’t give you a true benchmark of where you would want to be,” she explained.

“Competing with world-class athletes is what really sets the standard for what to work on and to just see where you are in your progress. So this meet was a great meet. It had a lot of world-class athletes so it was a true test of progress.”

Having run both short sprints so far this season begs the question, does she plan to compete at both at the Olympic this summer should she qualify at her national championships set for June? Whyte said it’s too early to say.

“Both events complement each other so at the moment I am using each event to get better at the other. The 200m really helps with speed endurance but eventually, when it gets closer to that time, my coach and I will decide based on how the season progresses, what will be best,” she said.

“At the moment, I am delighted for the opportunity to compete. I haven’t run the 200 consistently for the past few years so I am just trying to familiarize myself with the event again. So it’s really a learning process as I go along.  I am also trying to stay injury-free, which is my number one goal.”

Commenting on Richardson's phenomenal time, Whyte said: "Richardson's run was spectacular, she’s a very talented athlete."

Track and field coach and broadcaster Ato Boldon believes the USA’s Sha’ Carri Richardson is now favoured to break Jamaica’s stranglehold on the Olympic 100m title this summer, following her jaw-dropping 100m run at the Miramar South Florida Invitational on Saturday.

World long-jump champion Tahjay Gayle and silver medalist Danielle Thomas-Dodd were the only winners on a day of mixed results for Caribbean athletes at the Miramar South Florida Invitational at the Ansin Sports Complex on Saturday.