The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

As she gets set to compete in her fourth World Championships, Devynne Charlton is hoping that she will finally get her breakthrough as a medallist in the women’s 100 metres hurdles on the senior global stage.

Charlton, 27, will be part of the Bahamas’ 11-member delegation that will be in Budapest, Hungary, this week to participate in the championships, scheduled for August 19-27.

The team will be led by defending women’s 400 metre champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, men’s Olympic champion Steven Gardiner, sprinter Anthonique Strachan, versatile Charisma Taylor and javelin thrower Rhema Otabor, quarter-miler Alonzo Russell, sprinter Terrence Jones, veteran high jumper Donald Thomas, long jumper LaQuan Nairn and hurdler Shakeem Hall-Smith.

Laketah Charlton will be the team leader, assisted by Tito Moss, the track coach, while Corrington Maycock will be the throws coach. Keir Miller will travel as the team doctor and Pharez Cooper will be the physiotherapist.

Charlton, coming off her season’s best performance of 12.62 seconds on August 4 at the Wolfe Track and Field Complex in Memphis, Tennessee, said she’s ready for Budapest.

“I had my first practice session since I got in. It went pretty well and so I’m ready to go,” said Charlton, who is already in Budapest. “The conditions here are great, the weather is warm.

“That’s the kind of conditions that I look forward to competing in. So I’m really looking forward to turning in some pretty good times and hopefully it will get me to achieve my goals.”

In her World Athletics’ preview, Charlton is just listed as a contender for the event, but she said it’s not going to bother her because she’s looking forward to improving on her seventh place finish at her fourth appearance at the championships last year in Eugene, Oregon.

“Usually coming into the championships, I’m not normally considered to be a contender for a medal, so it doesn’t phase me out,” she said. “I know what type of shape I’m in so it’s just a matter of me going out there and executing on that day.”

Without divulging too much information, Charlton said the goal is to get on the podium and bring home some of the hardware.

“I’m definitely looking forward to something special,” said Charlton, who ended her season last year as the Commonwealth Games and NACAC Championship silver medallist.

She noted that the field of competitors is expected to be intense as usual, with or without Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, who lowered the world record to 12.12 in the semifinals before she went on to secure the gold at last year’s championships in Eugene.

Amusan’s participation is pending a decision from the Athletics Integrity Unit, following her anti-doping suspension for three whereabouts failures.

“It’s unfortunate if she’s not there because you want everybody to line up,” Charlton said. “We know that there are injuries and some ongoing investigations that may hinder some of the competitors this year.

“But we still have a talented field of competitors who are expected to line up so I’m looking forward to racing against all of them.”

According to World Athletics, if Amusan is not allowed to compete, the top two contenders would be American Nia Ali and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, who have clashed 17 times since the start of the 2022 season, while American and former world record holder Kenny Harrison is next.

The others are Jamaica’s Megan Tapper, Danielle Williams and rising talent Ackera Nugent, the 21-year-old NCAA champion, as well as American Masai Russell, who finished second to Nugent in the NCAA final. Also mentioned is Ditaji Kambundji, who has run a Swiss record of 12.47.

As for Team Bahamas, Charlton said it’s a pretty strong one and she’s looking forward to having some medals come home at the end of the championships.

Hopefully she will get one as she starts the process of earning the first of two major international medals that have eluded her so far. The other is the Olympic Games, which she hopes to pursue in her second appearance next year in Paris, France.

“I’m just trying to add to my collection,” she said. “I’ve captured medals at all of the international stages, I’m still looking forward to getting my first from the World Championships and hopefully that will take me into the Olympics.”

Charlton, who is trained by Bahamian Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene in Lexington, Kentucky, produced her lifetime best of 12.46 in the semifinals before she ended up seventh in the final at last year’s World Championships in Eugene in 12.53.