The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstjubbs@tribunemedia.net

In another showdown this season, national record holder Devynne Charlton got the better of former national record holder Pedrya Seymour in the women’s 100 metre hurdles at the Golden Gala in Florence, Italy.

While the two Olympic Games bound competitors clashed on the track, they were joined on the field by high jumper Donald Thomas, who also participated yesterday at the Asics Firenze Marathon Stadium on the third stop of the Wanda Diamond League.

But while it was a great race for Charlton, who placed second in 12.80 seconds behind Pueto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who established a meet record in 10.38, it was an emotional one for Seymour.

Seymour and Thomas both got the news at the meet that their agent, Andy Stubbs from Australia, passed away two days ago.

“It’s hard. I’m lost for words because he’s been the most consistent person in my life as a pro athlete,” said Seymour, who is still grieving the loss of her brother, Keron, who died while she was preparing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“He (agent Stubbs) helped my career a lot.”

As for Charlton, whose career as a pro athlete is just starting to take shape, she was just elated by her performance.

“For this being my first Diamond League meeting, I’m pleased with how I competed,” she said. “I was hoping for a better time, but we ran into a head wind and I hit the last hurdle and lost a bit of momentum running to the line.

“If the weather conditions were better and I had run a clean race, I believe the time would’ve been significantly better.”

The 25-year-old Charlton, who ran 12.61 on May 9 to lower the national record, said it’s always good when Seymour, 26, who held the previous national record at 12.64, is in the race because “it’s always a push because she’s a strong competitor.”

Looking at the standings for the Diamond League with two of the six meets featuring women’s 100m hurdles, Charlton is tied for fifth with Great Britain’s Cindy Sember with seven apiece. Seymour is eighth with four points. Luminosa Bogliolo of Italy heads the list with 10 points. Camacho-Quinn is tied with Sember for third with eight each.

Both Charlton, training out of the University of Kentucky with Bahamian coach Lonnie Greene from Purdue University, and Seymour, based in Auburn with her University of Illinois coach Randy Gillon, are looking forward to returning home in two weeks.

That’s when they will continue their rivalry when they return home for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Championships June 25-26 at the Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

The Nationals will solidify Team Bahamas for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, July 23 to August 8. Both Chalrton and Seymour have qualified for the Olympics, but will have to compete in the Nationals to secure their spot on the team.

Thomas, on the other hand, was not available for comments as he once again fell short of the Olympic qualifying standard of 7-feet, 7 3/4-inches or 2.33 metres.

The 36-year-old 2007 world champion was seventh with a best of 7-2 1/2 (2.20m). Iiya Ivanyuk of Russia won on the countback over Brando Static of Australia and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, who both did their season’s best of 7-7 12/4 (2.32m) for second and third respectively behind Ivanyuk.

With two of the six meets that will host men’s high jump now completed, Thomas sits in ninth place with three points in the standing, one behind fellow Bahamian Jamal Wilson. Ivanyuk tops the list with 16 points.

Wilson, the 32-year-old coached by Ronald Cartwright, had a season’s best of 7-4 1/4 (2,24m) in Doha, Qatar on May 28 for a tie for fifth with Canadian Derek Drouin, while Thomas was eighth with 7-2 1/2 (2.20m).