Jamaican sprinter Oblique Seville is set to open his season in the men’s 400m event during the Camperdown Classic at the National Stadium on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Seville, one of the country’s top sprinters, is coming off a disappointing performance at the Olympic Games in Paris, where he pulled up just before the finish line in the men’s 100m final due to a groin injury. He finished the race in eighth place.

The gold medal was won by American Noah Lyles, while Seville’s compatriot Kishane Thompson took silver. The bronze medal went to another American, Fred Kerley.

Seville is down to compete in Heat C against Bryan Levell, a semi-finalist in the men’s 200m at the Paris Olympics. The race is also expected to feature Jameel Young, Shamar Horatio, Kuron Griffith, and Adrey Jones.

Seville ended the 2024 season as the second-fastest Jamaican over 100 metres, with a personal best of 9.81 seconds. Thompson closed the year with the fastest time in the world, running a personal best of 9.77.

Seville had previously told the Jamaica Observer that he has moved past the disappointment in the French capital and is now focused on the 2025 campaign.

“Mentally, I will be okay because I have a strong team around me, and my mental state is actually good because I can bounce back from this. I have seen what happened, and I know what to do to prevent it from happening again, so everything is going to be good next year.”

“Training has been good so far, and I am just taking it step by step each month to see all the progress I can make.”

Antonio Watson, the 2023 400m world champion, is also scheduled to open his season at the meet when he competes in the one-lap event. Watson, who missed last year’s Olympic Games due to injury, is expected to go up against the likes of Demish Gaye, Malik James-King, Delano Kennedy, and Jeremy Bembridge in Heat E.

Former national 400m champion Jevaughn Powell is to line up in Heat D against Assinie Wilson, Zandrion Barnes, and Tyrese Hyman.

Courtney Brooks, the meet organiser, says that despite some earlier setbacks, he is expecting an exciting championship on Saturday.

“We are good to go… we had some earlier hiccups, but we are ready to go now on Saturday. We lost one of our major sponsors, so we had to reach out to other entities and some of our past students to help us out,” he said.

Brooks added that over 2,000 athletes from more than 85 schools and institutions have been entered into the championships, ensuring fierce competition on and off the track.

“This is good for us compared to past years because we are always competing with the Western Relays, so the number we have this year is more than we expected, which is a plus. Out of the 85 schools entered, 30 are from outside Kingston and St Andrew,” he said.

In the high school section of the championships, the events scheduled to be contested include the 100m, 800m, high jump, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay, sprint medley, triple jump (open), pole vault (open), women’s invitational 400m, and the senior women’s 60m.

—Robert Bailey