PARIS, France — Jamaica’s eight-year wait for a global men’s sprint title could come to an end this weekend at the Olympic Games as Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville enter Saturday’s heats as red-hot favourites for the gold medal. The event is scheduled to begin at 4:45 am Jamaica time.

The country has not won a men’s global sprint title since Usain Bolt won the sprint double at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. However, Thompson and Seville have demonstrated that they intend to break that drought, as they are among the top four fastest men globally in 2024. Ackeem Blake, who has had a good season, is the country’s other competitor in the 100m event.

Thompson, 23, has had an outstanding season and is the fastest man in the world this year in the men’s 100m, with a personal best time of 9.77 seconds, achieved in the final of the 100m at the National Championships in June.

The strongly built sprinter, whose physical attributes and running style have led many people to compare him to former 100m record holder and compatriot Asafa Powell, has been improving steadily this season. He clocked 9.82 in the heats at the National Championships before clocking 9.84 in the semi-finals.

Thompson’s coach, Stephen Francis, who also coached Powell, said that his young charge is very relaxed and focused ahead of his event and, therefore, he anticipates a good performance from Thompson at the championships.

“I don’t see the pressure because, at the end of the day, everybody is talking about experience, but it is all about speed,” said Francis.

“When the gun fires, you run from here down to there, and whoever gets there first, wins. It has nothing to do with experience or mental pressure or whatever, he just has to be able to execute as well as he can.”

Francis also said that based on the shape Thompson is in entering the championships, he expects him to run much faster than he did at the National Championships.

“Everybody knows how he has done his times, and I can’t predict what he is going to do, just to say that I don’t think anybody has seen him run at his maximum,” Francis said. “So we will see if that is going to happen for this Olympics and how fast that will be.”

Seville, who is conditioned by the legendary Glen Mills, the former coach of Usain Bolt, is currently the second-fastest Jamaican this year and fourth-fastest globally with his time of 9.82. Thompson, Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (9.79) and the American reigning world sprint double champion Noah Lyles (9.81) are the only men to have run faster than Seville this year.

The 23-year-old recently recovered from abductor and upper-quad injuries picked up during the final of the men’s 100m at the National Championships, which caused him to miss training time. He was treated for his injuries by renowned German doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt.

The talented sprinter finished fourth in the final of the men’s 100m event at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last year. Seville also finished fourth in the 100m final at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022.

Seville told the Jamaica Observer in an interview a few days ago that he has gained a lot of experience from those fourth-place finishes at the World Championships, and he is now ready to put on an exciting performance at the Olympic Games.

“Execution is what is going to put me on the podium, and if I get my execution right, I am sure that I will be on the podium,” said Seville. “I am working on my strength, endurance, and a little bit of fitness, but for now, I know that I am fit for the championships, and everything is going as planned,” he said.

Blake, 22, the other Jamaican competing in the men’s 100m event, will enter the contest as the joint 13th fastest man in the world this year with a time of 9.92.