The Tribune

Devynne Charlton and Ken Mullings put on stellar performances in January to run away with the first Player of the Month honours for 2024. The Tribune Sports section will recognise the efforts of athletes across all sporting disciplines and award a male and female candidate at the end of each respective month, culminating with the selection of the junior and senior athletes of the year.

Charlton and Mullings both opened their indoor seasons in record-breaking fashion.

Ken Mullings - Male Winner

The multi-event athlete got his season started by shattering the 35-year-old indoor pole vault record set by Brent Vanderpool in February 1988 in Annapolis, Maryland. He soared to a height of 5.03 metres at the Illini Open hosted at the University of Illinois Armory in Champaign, Illinois earlier in January. The 26-year-old surpassed Vanderpool’s previous national record performance of 4.95m. In the event, Mullings leapt to 4.43m on the first attempt, next he cleared 4.58m, 4.73m, 4.88m and ended with his winning height of 5.03m.

The new indoor pole vault national record holder was also successful in the men’s 60m hurdles where he claimed a first place finish in 7.83 seconds, a personal best at the time.

Additionally, he ended in sixth place in the men’s shot put with a throw of 15.25m.

Last weekend, Mullings turned heads once again with another record-setting performance, this time in the men’s indoor heptathlon at the Illini Challenge hosted at the University of Illinois Armory in Champaign, Illinois. He shattered the standard set by himself one year prior at the same event with a total of 6,340 points across seven events. Last year, he amassed a total of 5,933 points.

The former University of The Bahamas student was able to obtain personal bests in six of the seven events competed in. He came first in the 60m in 6.83 seconds (944 points), long jump with 7.52m (940 points), shot put with 15.91m (846 points), high jump with 2.14m (934 points), 60m hurdles in 7.76 seconds (1,043 points), and pole vault with 4.95m (895 points). Mullings came sixth in the 1,000m event in 2:52.68 (738 points).

Devynne Charlton - Female Winner

Charlton opened up her indoor season with a bang, beginning with a world-leading time of 7.88 seconds in the 60m hurdles at the Rod McCravy Memorial Track and Field Meet at the Norton Sports Centre in Louisville, Kentucky. The hurdles national record holder ran the second fastest qualifying time with 7.98 seconds before hitting her world-leading mark. She placed fourth in the 60m prelims in 7.38 seconds.

Her best performance of the month came in the 60m hurdles at the 2024 Texas Tech Corky Classic in Lubbock, Texas. She ran a blistering 7.75 seconds, earning her second straight victory in the event and lowering her previous national record of 7.81 seconds achieved in 2022 at the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. The 28-year-old’s latest accomplishment positioned her in a five-way tie as the 13th fastest woman to compete in that event.

Both athletes will look to continue their positive strides as the World Indoor Championships and Paris Olympic Games are right around the corner.