The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

It was another gold-medal performance for The Bahamas’ world indoor record holder Devynne Charlton as she repeated as champion of the women’s 60 metres hurdles at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.

Shooting out of the blocks like a rocket, Charlton surged through the first three flights of hurdles before the pack started to reel her in on Sunday at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park and, over the final two flights, she held off the field for a season’s best of 7.72 seconds.

“It was a big deal for me to come here and show up, defend my title,” said Charlton, who was eighth on the list of entries for Nanjing on season’s best but peaked when it mattered the most. “It was a big goal for me. It wasn’t looking great, but I trusted the people around me and I was able to pull it off.”

As they packed it at the finish line, the 29-year-old Charlton was not going to be denied the top spot on the podium as she duplicated what she did last year in Glasgow, Scotland, as she held off a pair of 22-year-old rising stars in Ditaji Kambundji from Switzerland, who came through with the silver in 7.73, just ahead of Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent for the bronze in 7.74.

In what was a stacked field,  the top six finishers were separated by just 0.04 with Pia Skrzyszowska fourth in a Polish record of 7.74, USA’s Grace Stark fifth in the same time and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands sixth in 7.76.

Before this world indoor final, the record number of athletes finishing under 7.80 in a single race was three. The 7.76 would have been enough to win 15 of the past 20 editions of the World Indoor Championships. “It’s definitely super hard to defend a title at an event like this. The women always show up,” said Charlton, who added the pair of gold to silver in 2022 in Belgrade. “To come away with a win against these ladies, it’s really cool.”

The Bahamas was hoping to have a pair of competitors in the final, but while Charlton posted the fifth fastest time with her second place in the second of three heats in her semifinal earlier in the day in 7.82, fellow Olympian Denisha Cartwright got third in the last heat in 8.08 for 11th overall.

Charlton’s victory, which came on the same day as her younger sister, Anthaya Charlton made her global debut in the women’s long jump final, put the Bahamas tied for 12th place with Canada on the medal table and tied at 24th with Greece on the placing table.

Bahamas Association of Athletics Associations’ president Drumeco Archer, who headed the Bahamian delegation to the championships, said Charlton showed why she’s the best women’s indoor hurdler in the world.

“She didn’t have a strong season, She had some knicks and knacks, but she’s a trooper and there’s no one like Devynne,” Archer said. “When you get to the starting blocks, you know you’re going to come up against a lion because she always brings it.

“World record holder, defending champion indoor champion and she proved why she is the best indoor 60m hurdler in the world.”

North American, Central American and Caribbean (NCAC) president Mike Sands expressed his congratulations to Charlton and her family, including her parents, Laura and Dave Charlton, who was in Nanjing to cheer on Team Bahamas.

“Winning a world championship title in and of itself is the ultimate accomplishment and to successfully defend such title against arguably one of the most competitive hurdles finals ever assembled speaks volumes of Devynne’s talent, dedication, determination and true grit,” he said.

As she got progressively better during the rounds, Charlton lowered her previous season’s best of 7.83 that she did on February 8 at the Amory Track and Field Center in New York.

Coming into the championships, Cartwright, 25, had a season’s best of 7.78 that she ran on January 25 at the Iowa-Recreation Building in Iowa City, Iowa. 

The former volleyball player is coming off her superb collegiate career ending experience at Minnesota State where she repeated as the NCAA Division II most outstanding athlete, defending her titles in both the 100m hurdles and the 200, while placing second in the 100m.

She also went on to compete at the Olympics where she had to go through the repechage of the women’s 100m hurdles, falling short of qualifying for the semifinals.

Charlton, 29, won the world indoor title last year running a world record time of 7.65 in . She went on to duplicate her sixth place finish in the final of her second Olympic Games experience in Paris, France with a national breaking performance of 12.44.

As for her younger sister, Anthaya Charlton soared to 21-feet, 6 3/4-inches or 6.57 metres for her sixth place on her fourth attempt. Her series of jumps included 20-5 3/4 (6.24m) on her first, a scratch on her second, 21-3 1/4 (6.48m) on her third, 21-6 1/4 (6.56m) on her fifth and 21-3 1/2 (6.49m) on her final attempt. 

The medal winners were American Claire Bryant with a lifetime best of 22-10 (6.96m) on her fifth try, Switzerland’s Annik Kalin with 22-5 (6.83m) on her final try and Spin’s Fatina Diame with 22-0 3/4 (6.72m) on her opening mark.

The 21-year-old Charlton was coming off her fourth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the University of Florida a week ago. She posted the world’s leading national record-breaking performance of 22-10 3/4 (6.98m) on January 31 in Fayetteville, Arkansas before Malaika Mihambo of Germany surpassed her with 23-07 (7.07m) on February 7 in Europahalle, Karlsruhe, Germany. 

The other two members of Team Bahamas were sprinter Camille Rutherford and quarter-miler Wendell Miller.

Rutherford, competing in the women’s 60m, got to the semifinal where she was 24th overall in 7.41 after she was eighth in the first of three hats won by Zaynab Dosso of Italy in 7.07.

Dosso finished as the runner-up in the final in 7.06 behind Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland, who came from behind to take the tape in 7.04.

Running out of lane five in the second of six heats, the 22-year-old Rutherford qualified from the preliminary rounds with 7.25 for fourth and 7th going into the semifinal.

Miller, the Olympian mixed 4 x 400m relay team member, placed 16th overall in the men’s 400m with a lifetime best of 47.38, but he didn’t advance to the semifinals. 

The 22-year-old Miller, the only male member on the team, was third in the third of five heats in the preliminaries.

Archer said the BAA’s management staff that included team manager Foster Dorsette, head coach Bernard Rolle and team doctor Dr. Kent Bazard was particularly pleased with the showing from all of the athletes representing the Bahamas.

“Wendell did to advance to the semifinals, but he set q persons record, which is good for me because this was his first Interntional competition and his management and coaching staff were equally pleased,” Archer said.

“They said his progress is steady and he’s certainly expected to run very well in the outdoor season Obviously the indoor, with such a tall stature, may it tough for him , but nonetheless, he was able to establish a personal best.”

Archer said Anthaya Charlton came into the championships with the second-best mark in the world this year and her sixth-place finish keeps her among the top long jumpers bin the world.

“Anthaya can be one of the best long jumpers in the world,” he said. “There are some technical things that she can work on to make her the best long jumper the world has ever seen this year.”

As for Cartwright, Archer said they noticed that because of her quickness out of the blocks, she had to make an adjustment in the semifinal and it caused her because she crashed over the first hurdle and was out of the race

“I can say she is the future of women’s sprints and hurdles. She clearly was one of the favorites going into the final, but it just wasn’t meant to be,” Archer said.

“And although Camille Rutherford didn’t advance, she showed that she can really run with the big dawgs. She as a bit disappointed, but I think the outdoors will be an exciting one for her.”

The team is scheduled to return home on Tuesday.