Seville’s mother still believes in son’s dream of Olympic glory

Though visibly disheartened by her son’s eighth-place finish in the finals of the men’s 100m in Paris on Sunday, Juliet Seville, mother of Jamaican sprinter Oblique Seville, said she is not giving up on her son’s dream of Olympic glory.

“It’s a journey, and we have to expect (anything),” she said.

Oblique, who was endorsed as a favourite to medal in the race after running his season’s sixth sub-10 of 9.81 in the semi-finals, finished in a time of 9.91 seconds.

Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson took silver in a photo finish with the United States’ Noah Lyles, who secured gold.

Just before the race was to begin, an admittedly nervous Juliet shared that she was hoping that Oblique, the youngest of her three children, and who she referred to as her “baby”, would sprint to his first Olympic medal.

“I am hoping for gold (medal), but whatever it works out for, I’d have to satisfy with it, but I am a proud mother today,” she said.

Her pride in her son did not diminish after watching his performance in the finals from a cellphone in her living room in Harbour View, St Andrew, as her cable television signal was lost momentarily, just before the race.

“I’m still happy to know that him reach the final, and he’s still young, and I know he will come through. I am not disappointed,” she said.

“Oblique, a suh it go. Just hold di faith,” she said, conscious of the regret he would be feeling over his performance.

Oblique’s Dream

According to her, Oblique has been running since he was in her womb as she would marvel at how much he moved. When he was only 11 years old and a student at the Cedar Valley Primary and Junior High School in St Thomas, he shared his dream of becoming an athlete and being coached by the legendary Glen Mills, coach of the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt.

On the advice of relatives who saw his potential, Juliet said the family enrolled him at Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester, where he continued to hone his skills. He later moved on to Calabar High School in St Andrew.

Oblique’s father, with whom he shared a very close relationship, passed away in 2018. The following year, he won the gold in the 100m in 10.24 seconds at the CARIFTA Games in George Town, Cayman Islands, and silver at the Pan American under-20 Championships in Costa Rica.

He made his Olympic debut at 19 years old at Tokyo 2020 in the 100 metres, where he made the semi-finals. He also represented Jamaica as part of the 4x100 metres team, which finished fourth in the final.

He is currently being coached at Racers Track Club by Mills.

Reminiscing on her son’s journey, Juliet emphasised her belief that he would one day achieve the highest honour in his sport by copping an Olympic medal.

“Everything that he asked for, it worked out in his favour … and if it doesn’t work, well a nuh fi yuh time.” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com