Although Oblique Seville is seen as a favourite to win the 100 metres at this year’s World Athletics Championships, former world champions Justin Gatlin and Donovan Bailey believe the Jamaican star needs to apply a more strategic approach in Tokyo.

Seville booked his spot in Japan last month when he clocked a season’s best 9.83 seconds to finish second in the 100m final at the National Senior Championships at the National Stadium.

The 24-year-old has been in fine form this season with multiple sub-10 seconds clockings, including his recent 9.86 to win at the London Diamond League recently and get the better of Olympic champions Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo. Seville is tied with compatriot Kishane Thompson as the only men this year to break the 10-second mark five times.

However, Seville is looking to break his individual medal drought at a major championships after missing out on the podium at the Paris Olympics last summer, as well as the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.

He impressed in the 100m semi-finals at the last three major championships, winning in 9.90 seconds in Oregon 2022, 9.90 seconds in Budapest 2023 and a personal best 9.81 seconds in Paris. However, he had consecutive fourth-place finishes at the World Championships and ended eighth at last year’s Olympics.

American Gatlin, who won the 100m world title in 2005 and 2017, says Seville has what it takes to win gold in Tokyo, but believes a more measured approach in the rounds could be beneficial.

“I think a lot of people get all caught up in what you have to do in the semis — you have to run a fast time to get a good lane [but] trust me, I’ve been down that road before. You don’t have to do all that — just make sure you get into the finals and make sure you secure yourself a lane and rest your body so you have enough energy for that finals. I think it’ll be a game-changer for someone like Oblique,” he said on his ‘ Ready Set Go’ podcast.

“Don’t put all your eggs into one basket when it comes to the semis. As long as you come across that line first if you can, or second, [while] conserving that energy needed in an hour later. You’re going to have to warm up again which is going to take you another 20 minutes and then you go to the call room then you got to walk again so that hour is going to be eaten up. You’ve really got about 40 minutes, maybe 35, before you have to go back out there on the track. So I think if Oblique can navigate from the prelims, semis and handle business in the finals, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be on top of that podium.”

Jamaican-born Bailey, who won the 1995 100m world title representing Canada, says Seville should make some adjustments in the coming weeks to be fully prepared for September.

“His distribution of power over the first 30 metres is exceptional and his ability to accelerate is absolutely exceptional. I’m only ever concerned about him cramping or getting injured during rounds,” he said on his Donovan Bailey Running Things podcast.

“Oblique has the ability to run 9.7, we know that, and it shows — he’s running with ease. Right now, it’s really just execution and training through any Diamond League competition that he has and executing. I just think the more time that he gets, the more dangerous he is. I expected him to be at least the Olympic silver medallist so him and [Glen Mills] need to be tweaking all the mechanics of the race to allow and prepare him to be at his best in Japan,” he added.

Gatlin also believes that the early and midseason form of Seville and others will go to waste if proper mental preparation isn’t being practised.

“As you become a seasoned athlete, you have to think about the mental warfare that goes into running. You got to think about the psychology of preserving yourself and knowing when to show your real hand,” he said.

“Yes, you put everybody on notice when you run 9.7 early in the season but now they have something to prepare for — they have something they can use as a gauge as they go into their nationals or the World Championships. As a person who runs that fast that early, the name of the game for you is to hold onto that speed as long as you can, stay sharp and hopefully you and your coach and system can rebase successfully and go out there and win a championship. We’ve seen a lot of people come out and run a fast time early in the season and we put them on top of the podium and then by the time the two, three weeks before the Championships, where are they at?”

Seville, Thompson and Ackeem Blake will be looking to become Jamaica’s first 100m world champion since the legendary Usain Bolt in 2015.

Jamaica’s Oblique Seville celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the men’s 100m during the World Athletics Diamond League meeting, at the London Stadium, in London, England on Saturday, July 19. (Photo: AFP)

In this September 29, 2019, file photo, silver medal winner Justin Gatlin, of the United States, smiles during the medal ceremony for the men’s 100m event at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. (Photo: Nariman El-Mofty)

Jamaican-born Olympic and World Champion Donovan Bailey (Photo: Garfield Robinson)