Bahamian national record holder clocks season’s best; Strachan third in Eugene
Simba FrenchSend an emailJune 1, 2022 311 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
Bahamian hurdler Devynne Charlton is having a great season and that continued when she powered her way to a season’s best of 12.88 seconds in the women’s 100 meters (m) hurdles at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold 61st Golden Spike Meet at the Mestský Stadion in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Tuesday afternoon.
That time gave her a fourth-place finish, running with a 1.0 meters per second (mps) tailwind.
Winning that race was 2020 Olympic Champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, of Puerto Rico, clocking 12.56 seconds. Polish athlete Pia Skrzyszowska ran a personal best time of 12.65 seconds to get the silver medal. American Nia Ali finished third after posting a time of 12.69 seconds.
In that race, there was one personal best and three season’s bests. It could be a preview of what to expect at the World Athletics (WA) World Championships, set for this summer in Eugene, Oregon.
Charlton’s previous season’s best time of 12.98 seconds came at the Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky, in April. She ran 12.61 seconds at the Ooredoo Doha Meeting in Doha, Qatar, but it was not a legal time as there was a tailwind of +3.8mps.
The 100m hurdles national record holder has touched the track a lot this season, running both indoors and outdoors. The 26-year-old run again on Monday, taking part in the World Athletics Continental Tour FBK Games at the Blankers-Koen Stadium in Hengelo, Netherlands.
Anthonique Strachan is also having a strong season, showing that she is on a return path from injuries that hampered her in the past. She was in action this past Saturday, competing at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The 28-year-old placed third in the women’s 200m when she posted a time of 22.76 seconds running out of lane eight.
Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was a force to reckon with as she ran a season’s best of 22.41 seconds to cross the finish line first. American Brittany Brown was second after posting a time of 22.74 seconds to narrowly hold off Strachan.
“My overall plan for the race from the start was to try to get as much separation as possible,” said Strachan after the race. “I sort of executed that and I also sort of didn’t but it was a great race, can’t really complain about that.”
The Prefontaine Classic was the third Wanda Diamond League meet of the season.
Earlier in the outdoor season, Strachan held off Fraser-Pryce in this same sprint distance when she clocked a season’s best time of 22.55 seconds. That was done at the MVP Velocity Fest 11 at the Jamaica National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.
Strachan may run at the Rome Wanda Diamond League on Thursday June 9. Charlton and Strachan along with other top tier Bahamian track and field athletes are expected to be in action at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) National Championships later this month.