PARIS, France — As sprinter Oblique Seville prepares to step on the track for his 100m semi-final event, one thing etched on his mind will be fulfilling a dream that has been close to his heart for years — winning his first global team title. This dream is not just his own but also that of his late father, Gerald Seville, whom he says was his biggest supporter.

Seville’s father passed away in 2018, just before his son’s meteoric rise in the sport.

“I lost my father before I won at Champs in 2018, and he was the one that really pushed me to do this because he was always my supporter,” Seville told the Jamaica Observer. “He supported me before I became this big but, sadly, he didn’t get to see it because he passed away before I broke out on the scene.

“Of course the aim is for everybody to win, and I know that if I fulfil that dream of winning here — which is going to happen — he is going to be happy.”

Seville, who finished fourth in the final of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last year, will enter the semi-finals as the fastest of the Jamaicans with his time of 9.99 seconds — clocked to win his heat on Saturday. Kishane Thompson, who is the fastest Jamaican in the world this year with his time of 9.77, was comfortable in winning his heat in 10.00 to also advance. Ackeem Blake is the other Jamaican who will contest the semi-final after he finished second in his heat in 10.06. The race was won by South Africa’s Akani Simbine in 10.03.

Seville, the second-fastest Jamaican this year behind Thompson with his personal best time of 9.82, recently recovered from abductor and upper-quad injuries picked up during the final of the men’s 100m at the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships in June, which caused him to miss training time. He was treated for his injuries by Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt. He said he got a poor start in the heat but is determined to ensure that he gets a much better start today.

“I am feeling good, but I didn’t get a pretty start. But, experience and a good execution were what brought me through the first round,” he said. “I am pretty confident going into the semi-finals knowing that I ran a comfortable race in the first round.”