Jamaican sprinter beats Noah Lyles at a wet Diamond League meeting in Switzerland which proved a nightmare for high jumpers and pole vaulters in particular

On a night of incessant rain in Lausanne, Seville Oblique defied the elements to clock a swift 9.87 (-0.3) as he beat Olympic champion Noah Lyles by 15 hundredths of a second.

The Jamaican announced himself as a gold medal contender at the World Championships in Tokyo next month as he produced an assured performance to see off a quality field that included British record-holder, Zharnel Hughes, who finished fifth in 10.09.

The 24-year-old Seville was fourth in the world 100m finals in 2022 and 2023, whereas in Paris last year he won his semi-final before finishing eighth in the Olympic final.

Here in Lausanne he brushed off the poor conditions to blast to an emphatic win into a slight headwind in the damp chilly conditions. Behind Lyles, Ackeem Blake of Jamaica was third with Akani Simbine of South Africa fourth.

Seville said: "Running 9.87 in those conditions shows I can go much faster, anywhere in the world. That's a good time. I've beaten the Olympic champion twice, in London and here, and that gives me a lot of confidence heading into the championships. It's been a while since a Jamaican man has won the 100m at a global championship, and of course I believe I can be the one to do it. My coach inspires me a lot, even the small tips he gives make a big difference."

Lyles said: "I just had a horrible reaction to the gun. That was the only thing wrong. Technically I felt good, my warm-up was good, but once you miss the start at this level the race is basically over. Physically I feel great, and I am confident every race will get better and better. The goal is to sharpen the details, especially my drive phase and my start, heading to Tokyo and the World Championships."

The world No.1 this summer, Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, was not in the race, as he withdrew a few days before the event, perhaps after studying the long-range weather forecast.

Such were the wet conditions, world high jump record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh finished 10th and last in her event after no-heighting. With the Ukrainian clearly not enjoying the conditions, Christina Honsel, Nicola Olyslagers and Maria Zodzik tied for first place with a modest 1.91m.

Certainly, it was not a good night if your event involved landing on to a sodden mat. The women’s pole vault, for instance, was won with just 4.35m with Lea Bachmann, Hanga Klekner and Angelica Moser sharing the win.

Oblique aside, there were some other good performances in the damp conditions, though. An exciting men’s 800m, for example, was won by Josh Hoey of the United States in 1:42.82.

With 100m to go Britain’s Max Burgin kicked past Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya and looked like he might win his first Diamond League race.

But Burgin was passed in the final 50 metres by Hoey and Mahamed Attaoui of Spain, whereas Wanyonyi found a second wind to re-pass the Briton.

Still, Burgin ran a fine 1:43.44 in the conditions as he finished ahead of, among others, world champion Marco Arop of Canada.

Earlier in the night Keely Hodgkinson had impressed with a 1:55.69 meeting record in the women’s 800m, while Ethan Hussey enjoyed a good win in the men’s B race 800m in 1:45.80.

Over at the British Milers’ Club meeting in Tooting, London, just moments before Hodgkinson’s race started, Ben Pattison and Jake Wightman ran just outside 1:45. The big British male winner on the night, however, was Tiarnen Croken, who sealed selection for Tokyo with 1:44.48 in Pfungstadt, Germany, after having finished runner-up to Burgin in the UK Champs.

Elsewhere in Lausanne, Nadine Visser of the Netherlands won the 100m hurdles in 12.45 (-0.5) to take the scalp of Olympic champion Masai Russell of the United States with local favourite Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland third.

Isaac Kimeli of Belgium won a rain-soaked men’s 5000m in 13:07.67 just ahead of Grant Fisher of the United States and Eduardo Herrera of Mexico.

Kimeli said: "I wanted to get out hard, let the leaders take the rain, and then make my move with 100m to go. It felt like being a kid again, playing in the rain. I've never raced in anything like this before. It reminded me of cross-country growing up, where it comes down to being the toughest and the most patient."

Fisher said: "It felt like cross-country out there, the rain made it tactical and messy, and everyone realised times were out the window. I closed well, but I need to be a bit more proactive in the last 150 metres. These kinds of races are good practice for championship season: it's about sharpening, building confidence and fixing weaknesses before Tokyo."

Brittany Brown of the United States won the women’s 200m in 22.23 (-0.5) as Brits Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita were fifth and seventh in 22.64 an 22.73.

A number of surprises in the field included the men’s long jump where Anvar Anvarov of Uzbekistan won with a modest 7.84m (-0.3) with world and Olympic champion Miltos Tentoglou of Greece down in seventh.

Haruka Kitaguchi, the Olympic and world javelin champion from Japan, was 10th and last in a women's competition won by Adriana Vilagos with 63.02m.

The men’s shot result had a more familiar feel to it, however, as Joe Kovacs of the United States threw 22.04m to win from Leonardo Fabbri’s 21.77m.

Doris Lemingole, a Kenyan athlete who had enjoyed success on the NCAA circuit in recent years, won the women’s 3000m steeplechase in 9:16.36 as Britain’s Elise Thorner was fourth in 9:21.74.

Keely Hodgkinson wins in style – click here

Full results here