The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN the final event on day four of the track and field competition at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, The Bahamas got its first medal - a gold from Devynne Charlton in the women’s 100 metre hurdles.

Charlton, the 30-year-old national record holder, added her first major outdoor feat to her silver she won at the last games in Birmingham, England, in 2022.

Running out of lane six and holding onto her quick lead from start to finish over the 10 flights of hurdles in the Scotstoun Stadium, Charlton clocked 12.33 seconds to hold off her Jamaican training partner Megan Simmonds, who came through with the silver in 12.41. 

Charlton, the three-time world indoor 60m champion and world record holder, also snapped Nigerian Tobi Amusan’s two-straight reign of the title going back to the Gold Coast in 2018 as she ended up with the bronze in 12.60.

It was expected to be a dandy of a final after the three competitors were placed side by side based on their performances in the preliminaries earlier in the day.

The 29-year-old Amusan led the field with the fastest qualifying time of 12.19, just shy of her world record of 12.12 from her victory at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Charlton, coming off her second-place finish behind Denisha Cartwright at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Championships in June, won the second heat in 12.39 with Simmonds coming in second in 12.55. 

It was the third straight Commonwealth Games that The Bahamas has earned a gold medal, dating back to LaQuan Nairn’s victory in the men’s long jump in the 2022 Birmingham Games and Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s triumph in the women’s 400m at the 2018 Gold Coast Games.

Charlton’s medal now places The Bahamas in a two-way tie for 16th place overall with Fiji. Australia is leading the chart with 51 gold in their 110-medal haul.

While Charlton took the spotlight, two other Bahamians competed in their respective events with national record holder Keyshawn Strachan advancing to the men’s javelin final, but veteran Anthonique Strachan fell short in her bid in the women’s 200m semifinals.

Men’s Javelin

The 22-year-old Strachan earned a berth in today’s final of the spear with an eighth place in Group A with a heave of 257-feet, 10-inches or 78.60 metres.

The final is set for today and Strachan will be the 11th competitor in the field just behind Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters, the defending silver medallist from the 2022 games. Trinidad & Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott, the 2012 Olympic gold medallist and the reigning world champion, is third on the list to compete.

Women’s 200m 

Strachan, running out of lane one in the last of three heats, got fifth place in the half-lap race in 23.66, but it wasn’t enough to get her into today’s final that will feature three competitors from Jamaica and one from Trinidad & Tobago.

The 32-year-old Strachan, who is still seeking her first major medal at the senior international level after she completed an impressive junior campaign, finished 14th overall. 

On Wednesday, Strachan earned her berth in the semifinals with the third best time of 23.60 for a season’s best in the last of six heats of the preliminaries.

It should be noted that Steven Gardiner failed to advance in the men’s 200m preliminaries, despite a second-place finish in the eighth of 10 heats in 20.85. 

The 30-year-old Gardiner, who won both the Olympic and World Championship gold medals in the 400 metres, was 18th overall. The top 16 moved onto the semis contested yesterday.

TODAY

Women’s long jump

qualifying round

Anthaya Charlton, having just celebrated her 23rd birthday on Tuesday, will be the fifth of 12 jumpers in group B attempting to qualify for the final of the women’s long jump. 

There are another 12 jumpers in group A, all waiting to get into the final on the final day of competition on Saturday.

SATURDAY

Women’s javelin

Unlike the men, the women’s javelin will be a straight final with national record holder Rhema Otabor competing for a shot at another medal for Team Bahamas.

Judo

The Bahamian two-member team will begin competition at the SEC Hall 4 after their travel from the Central American and Caribbean Games this past week in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Also on Saturday, Xavion Johnson will contest the elimination round of 16 in the men’s -73 kilogram class against Taiwo Aremu of Nigeria.

Karra Hanna will close out competition for Team Bahamas on Sunday when she will be entered in the women’s +78 kg quarterfinals against Essohanam Noeline Koro of Togo.

The Bahamas also had a team of six swimmers and two professional boxers, who also competed at the games earlier in the two-week long competition.