The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

TWO-time Olympic 400 metre gold medalist Shaunae Miller-Uibo can now be called the World Indoor 400m champion.

Using her 6-foot, 1-inch frame to her advantage in lane six in the Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday at the 2020 World Indoor Championships, Miller-Uibo negotiated her way out front and stayed on top to stop the clock at 50.31 seconds, just 0.10 shy of the North American, Central American and Caribbean area record she set last year.

It was her first gold at the event, but her second medal after she had to settle for the bronze in her debut at the 2014 championships at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland.

Before the evening session was completed on day two of the three-day competition at the World Athletics’ first major championship for the year, 26-year-old Devynne Charlton added to the Bahamas’ fortunes with her first senior global medal – a silver in the women’s 60m hurdles as she matched her Bahamian national record of 7.81.

With the pair of medals, the Bahamas finished in a six-way tie in the standings with Brazil, Spain, France, Portugal and Ukraine. Ethiopia topped the list with four gold in their total of nine medals.

Although the united States had a total of 19 medals, they came in second in the gold rush with three. Jamaica, with three total medals, only amassed one gold, for 12th place.

Charlton was knocking on the door to her major breakthrough after she placed sixth in the final of the 100m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last August, following her eighth place finish at the World Indoors’ in the 60m hurdles in 2018.

For Miller-Uibo, who held off the strong challenge from Netherlands’ Olympic 400m hurdles bronze medalist Femke Bol in one of the marquee events of the championships, winning the gold this time around was a feather in her cap – she can now prepare for the only gold missing from her resume at the World Outdoor Championships.

“To be able to finish victorious, I’m glad how it all turned out,” said Miller-Uibo, who made her World Athletics’ 2022 indoor debut. “The goal was to get the break and control the race from there. It’s my first time out in the season. Three rounds was tough. The 400m is a brutal race. I can feel it now.”

Bol, winner of the European indoor flat 400m a year ago, closed the gap and made it a battle to the line for the silver in 50.57, while Stephanie Ann McPherson claimed bronze in a Jamaican record 50.79.

The 27-year-old Miller-Uibo had the third fastest semi-final time of 51.38, while MacPherson established the best time of 51.26 and Bol was next with 51.28 as the three competitors geared up for the much anticipated showdown in the final.

With indoors completed and another medal in her collection, Miller-Uibo will now focus her attention on the World Outdoors in Eugene, Oregon in July where she will pursue the 400m gold to add to her pair of silvers in the 2015 and 2019 championships and her repeat Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016 and Tokyo last year.

Less than two hours after Miller-Uibo’s success, Charlton earned her trip to the podium as well, producing the same time of 7.81, the fastest qualifier out of the semifinals to erase her previous national record of 7.89 that she posted in her World Indoor debut in Birmingham in 2018.

France’s 21-year-old Cyrena Samba-Mayela claimed the gold in a national record of 7.78. American Gabrielle Cunningham, who got into the final as a non-automatic qualifier, picked up the bronze in 7.87.

In other results from Team Bahamas, Grand Bahamian Donald Thomas went into a straight final in the men’s high jump on the final day of competition on Sunday. The 37-year-old 2007 World Outdoor champion placed 11th put of a field of 12 competitors with a leap of (2.20m).

Anthonique Strachan, in her World Indoor’s debut, reached the semi-final of the women’s 60m where she placed fourth in her heat in a personal best of 7.17 for 13th overall.

Strachan, 28, advanced out of the preliminaries with the 14th best time of 7.22 for third in her heat.

Collegian Megan Moss, making her initial appearance on the global stage in an individual event, was 26th overall in the preliminaries of the women’s 400m in 54.03. The 19-year-old University of Kentucky’s sophomore was fifth in her heat.

In those preliminary rounds, Miller-Uibo chalked up the second fastest time of 51.78 to trail Bol’s leading time of 51.48.

• Myers, Wilson and Culmer victorious in Coral Gables, Florida

At the Hurricanes Invitational at the Cobb Stadium, Tamara Myers soared to victory in the women’s triple jump with her leap of 45-feet, 1-inch (13.74m) on her second attempt. She fouled the first, third, fourth and sixth. Her only other legal jump was 43-8 1/2 (13.32m) on her fifth attempt.

Jamal Wilson, one of two Bahamians entered in the men’s high jump, took the title with his leap of 7-1 3/4 (2.18m), while Ryan Ingraham was third with 6-6 3/4 (2.00m) as they both made their season debut.

And Kaiwan Culmer also picked up a victory in the men’s triple jump as he leapt 53-11 3/4 (16.44m).

Also, Andre Colebrook came in sixth overall in the men’s 400m in 48.71 for fourth in his heat, while Keanu Pennerman came in ninth overall in the men’s 100m in 10.72 after placing sixth in his heat.