The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT has been two years since she last competed on the international scene. But hurdler Devynne Charlton feels she’s in the right place at the right time to make her comeback.

After graduating for Purdue University, Charlton’s career was hampered by a series of injuries that prevented her from participating at full strength at a series of meets, including the World Athletics’ 2018 World Indoor Championships and the NACAC Championships, as well as the 2019 Pan American Games.

But with Bahamian head coach Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene moving from Purdue University to the University of Kentucky, Charlton has also made the switch and regenerated her career.

“The goal is to make it back to the World Indoors, make it to the finals and pick up where I left off two years ago,” said Charlton, who finished 8th in a time of 8.18 seconds in the final at the last World Indoors in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Charlton, a graduate of St Augustine’s College, said the change in environment was just what the doctor ordered.

“Compared to last year, I’m back with Rolando Greene, who was my collegiate coach,” Charlton said. “Now I have a lot more training partners, a lot more professionals that I can interact with, so I’m in a good place right now.”

Greene said he welcomed Charlton to Kentucky.

“She’s doing great. She had a year where she was transitioning from me to another coach and I think the transition was hard for her,” said Greene, who is assisted by Bahamian “Golden Girl” Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.

“She’s now in a place where she is happy, she is training well and now she’s running very well. She has one of the fastest times in the world so far at 8:07 and she’s running faster now than when she ran 7.89 to set the Bahamian national record at the World Indoors.”

Greene said Charlton is definitely ahead of the game plan.

“The goal is to get her going early and so she can be ready for the World Indoors,” Greene said. “But Devynne is the type of athlete who can’t be selective. She has to race. Let’s use Shaunae (Miller-Uibo) for example. Shaunae does not have to race that much because she knows how to dial 48 seconds. Then there are others who have to race every weekend. Devynne is that type of athlete.”

It doesn’t mean that Charlton will get burned out, but rather it’s just her body type that she can continue to run and compete week in and week out. “She’s rounding into form. She’s going to be a beast this year,” Greene said.

Charlton, 24, intends to be back in action in Germany as she makes her return to the global stage.

“I’m so happy that I am getting back to the level where I was two years ago,” Charlton said. “I’m looking forward to competing at that level again this year.”

Last year, Charlton failed to get out of the heats at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, where she clocked 13.49 for 10th place.

Prior to that, she competed at the NACAC Championships in Toronto, Canada, in 2018 where she ended up in fifth place in 13.01 in the 100m hurdles.

Just before that, she got her first taste of competition at the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom, coming in eighth in the final of the 60m hurdles in 8.18.

Having competed in two consecutive World Championships in Beijing, China, in 2015 where she was 27th overall in the heats in 13.16 in 200m hurdles and 13th in the semi-finals in 12.95 in 2017 in London, Charlton is hoping that this year she will also earn a spot at the Olympic Games.

In order to book her ticket to Tokyo, Japan, from July 24 to August 8, Charlton will have to run the qualifying standard of 12.84.

She has ran faster than that, having posted a lifetime best of 12.74 on June 10, 2017, at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, while attending Purdue University under coach Greene.