The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

AS her younger sister Anthaya Charlton confirmed that she’s now going to turn pro as a track and field athlete, veteran hurdler Devynne Charlton continued to make her presence felt on the circuit.

Devynne Charlton, the 30-year-old world indoor 60m world record holder and two-time gold medallist at the World Indoor Championships, clocked 12.58 seconds for sixth place in the women’s 100 metre hurdles at the Wanda Diamond League on Friday night at the Stade Charley in Paris, France.

Charlton, the lone Bahamian to compete in the meet, led up to the midpoint of the 10 flights of hurdles, but she slowly faded through the final half of the race as American Grace Stark pulled away for the victory in a lifetime best of 12.21 for a new meet record.

World record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria came through in second in her season’s best of 12.24, while Jamaican Ackera Nugent was third in 12.30. 

Former American world record holder Kendra Harrison was fourth in 12.48 and Nadine Visser of The Netherlands got fifth in 12.51. Charlton beat out American Alaysha Johnson and Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska, who got seventh and eighth in 12.66 and a season’s best of 12.67 respectively.

Charlton, the Bahamian national record holder at 12.44 she posted in Budapest, Hungary, on August 22, 2023, is coming off her season’s best of 12.59 she ran at the Olympiastadion in Stockholm, Sweden on Sunday, June 15.

With her collegiate season over and done with, Charlton’s 21-year-old sister, Anthaya, has confirmed to turn pro after she completed the NCAA Outdoor Championships last weekend in Eugene, Oregon.

During the preliminaries of the 100m at the championships, Charlton ran a lifetime best of 10.87 for the second fastest by a Bahamian, trailing national record holder Chandra Sturrup, who ran 10.84.

In the final, Charlton, representing the University of Florida, finished fourth in 11.19. She was beaten out for a spot on the podium by South Carolina’s JaMeesia Ford. 

USC’s Samirah Moody won the title and LSU’s Tima Godbless was the runner-up, both timed in 11.14.

Charlton, who earlier this month graduated, was also fifth in her specialty in the long jump with a leap of 21-feet, 7 1/4-inches or 6.58 metres. 

Synclair Savage, a senior at Louisville, won the event with 22-3/4 (6.72m). 

With both performances, Charlton has qualified for the World Championships all scheduled for Tokyo, Japan, from September 13-21. 

The standard for the 100m is 11.07 and the long jump is 22-6 1/4 (6.86m). 

Charlton did her lifetime best of 22-11 (6.98m) for the national record at the Arkansas-Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas to erase Bianca Stuart’s previous national mark of 22-5 (6.83m) on June 26, 2015.

Anthaya will join Devynne, who has done the standard of 12.75 for the 100m hurdles for the World Championships in both of her two meets so far this year. 

The two sisters made history as they competed as the first Bahamian sisters at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China in March. 

While Devynne retained her title in the 60m hurdles in a record time of 7.72, Anthaya Charlton was sixth in her debut in the long jump with a leap of 21-6 3/4 (6.57m).