Celebrated track Coach Glen Mills says while there is some disappointment that Jamaican sprinter Oblique Seville missed out on a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, he is satisfied with the youngster’s performances and development and believes he is inching closer to a podium finish at this level.

Seville, like he did at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, finished fourth in the 100m final, this time clocking 9.88 seconds, the same time as second-placed Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) and third-place finisher Zharnel Hughes (Great Britain), who he trains alongside at the Racers Track Club.

The gold medal was won by American Noah Lyles in a world-leading 9.83 seconds.

Mills, who has been conditioning Seville since he turned pro in 2019, believes that inexperience played a role in the sprinter missing out on a medal but credited him for getting back to a competitive level after suffering several injury setbacks this season.

“He went very close to getting a medal, much closer than the last time; however, while disappointed, we are quite satisfied based on where he is coming from — such as at the trials, where he barely got through — and we were able to do remarkable work to get to the championships in the condition that he is in,” Mills told the Jamaica Observer.

“Unfortunately, inexperience cost him a medal; probably cost him the race and then cost him a medal in the end, based on the fact that we had lost so much time leading up to the trials,” said Mills. “He could have distributed his efforts much better. It was clear that he ran far too fast in the first round and I knew and was worried that it could affect him the next day having to run two rounds, but it’s a learning curve and each step takes him closer and closer.”

Seville matched his personal best of 9.86 seconds in the heats and was the only athlete who ran faster than 9.90 seconds in the round. He then clocked 9.90 seconds in the semi-finals, the third-fastest time of the round before returning a couple hours later to contest his second-consecutive final at a global championship.

“I figure at one of these competitions he is going to get the main objective that he is aiming for. It was clear to me, based on his efforts in the first round, that he has made strides over the last year and I think he is indicating that he can run faster than in the 9.80s. We will go back and prepare for another season and hope for a trouble-free season. He’s young and his enthusiasm is still there,” Mills added.

“I am pleased with his development. I am pleased that he is developing in the way that I am working towards. He is getting stronger, we continue to work on technique, but in terms of where he is, I am quite pleased with his development so far.”

Mills shared that he was pleased with Hughes’ effort and medal, also noted that Seville had already moved past the disappointment of not securing a medal for himself.

“Oblique is okay, of course he is disappointed that he did not get a medal, but it has not deterred his desire and determination to continue to strive for excellence.”

“I am very happy for Zharnel Hughes. He is a hard worker, he is disciplined and he has been knocking at the door for some time, and finally he found the opening. One would have been aiming for a better medal, but we are happy with the fact that he was able to get a medal. I think that this will help him in his future competition at this level,” said Mills.

Seville will now turn his attention to the men’s 4x100m relay, which gets underway on Friday.