The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bnstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Coming out of 2021, some of the country’s top athletes were close to realising their dreams or either winning a medal or making the national team for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games, which took place last August in Tokyo, Japan.

Today, we focus on some of those athletes who came so close to accomplishing their goals as they put their past year’s experience behind them and look towards a promising future, despite the fact that they have COVID-19 to deal with off the playing field.

Devynne Charlton, women’s Olympic 100m hurdles finalist

In making her return to the international scene after experiencing some major injuries that hampered her progress, Charlton was clicking on all cylinders as she regained the Bahamian national record and finished the year in sixth place in the Olympic final in 12.74 seconds.

“My biggest goal this year is both the World indoor and outdoor championships, so my goal is go back at the outdoor championships a little more focused and prepared than I was when I first competed four years ago,” said Charlton, who is currently training in Kentucky. “I was in college (at Purdue), but I didn’t have a college eligibility, so I decided to try for the World Championships. I thought it would be a good experience for me. UI ended up making the final, but due to the inexperience and nervousness, I messed up. But four years later, I’m looking forward to having a big meet.”

Based on what she’s seen at the Olympics last year with Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn winning the gold in an Olympic record of 12.37 seconds, Charlton said the World Indoors in Belgrade, Serbia March 18-20, should be just as competitive.

Charlton said she will definitely have to run at least 7.7 or faster in order for her to improve on her eighth place finish at the 2018 World Indoors in Birmingham, England where she placed eighth in the final.

“The goal is to get there and just let everything fall into place,” said Charlton, who is also hoping to open her 2022 season next weekend in Lexington. “I think what I achieved last year just tells me that I belong at this level and I can compete with the best in the world.”

The 2022 World Outdoor Championships will follow in Eugene, Oregon August 6-15 where Charlton said she’s looking forward to another impressive performance with the event being staged in the United States of America.

Donald Thomas, men’s high jump champion

The goal, according to Thomas, is to continue to progress so that he can go after another medal at the World Championships. His breakthrough on the international scene came in 2007 in Osaka, Japan where he soared on top of the world with the gold medal at the World Championships.

Since then, he’s won a medal at every major international event, except the Olympic Games. “I just want to be able to compete at my best and represent the country well,” said Thomas from his residence at Auburn.

“My expectations is to just be able to perform and contend for a medal.”

The good thing is this year’s World Championships is in Eugene, Oregon, which bodes well for him because he’s based in the USA and he doesn’t have to be concerned about travelling around the world and having to get over the jetlag before he competes.

“So that’s a positive thing,” said Thomas, who is expected to attend a training camp in Europe before he competes in a few meets on the European circuit once he and his coach make a decision on when they will open up the season.”

Cynthia Rahming, country’s top female judoka

She was one spot away from qualifying as one of the 12 judokas in the Americas region for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but Cynthia Rahming said the disappointment will only enable her to better prepare herself for her next shot at the games in 2024.

“I think I should have gotten some more competition at the end in retrospect,” Rahming said. “But with all of the COVID-19 issues, I’ve had some issues trying to get organised with limited funding and being stuck in one place.

“So my focus is on training, training and training, so when I go to those competitions I will be ready. But my main focus is to win a couple matches like a Grand Slam or a Grand Prix which will help to secure some points to get into the top rankings.”

Last year, Rahming had a world ranking of 127 in her division, which was higher than the top 100 she achieved in 2018. She could have qualified for the Olympics as the top 11 in the Americas or top 25 in the world.

“I’ve been working out at home trying to gain some funds,” said Rahming, who was scheduled to travel to Austria to do some training with fellow Bahamian Andrew Munnings, but had to change those plans because of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

“I hope to get in some tournaments later this year with the hopes of getting ready to compete in Japan for a Grand Slam in November. This year, I will just be honing my skills on a lot of the qualifying rounds to ensure that I am better prepared to qualify for the next Olympic cycle.”

The cycle begins two years out of the Olympic year, so starting next year, Rahming said she will have to start concentrating on her ranking by securing sufficient points in order to qualify for the games, scheduled for Paris, France, July 26 to August 11, 2024.