Home|Sports|Nairn, Charlton see Diamond League actionSports
They are expected home this week for nationals
Simba FrenchSend an emailJuly 3, 2023 93 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
With The Bahamas’ senior nationals set for this week, Bahamian senior athletes, long jumper LaQuan Nairn and hurdler Devynne Charlton, turned in strong performances at their respective Diamond League competitions over the weekend before they return home.
Nairn was in action in the men’s long jump at the Lausanne Diamond League, at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday. Charlton was in action in the women’s 100 meters (m) hurdles at the Bauhaus Galan Stockholm Diamond League in the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden, yesterday.
Nairn stacked up against some strong competitors, but a season’s best jump of 8.11m (26’ 7-1/4”) propelled him to win that event. Nairn went up against some strong competitors in that event, including India’s Sreeshankar and Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou, who have the second and fifth best jumps in the world this season, respectively.
“I’ve been preparing for this competition for two weeks,” Nairn said. “Last year, I came last in the Oslo Diamond League, so it’s amazing for me to be able to come first. Before the competition, I had my whole mindset changed and that helped me to jump further. I will continue working hard for the Budapest World Championships and I aim to get a medal there.”
Tentoglou was second with a leap of 8.07m (26’ 5-3/4”). Placing third was Japan’s Yuki Hashioka, who posted a distance of 7.98m (26’ 2-1/4”).
Nairn got his season’s best jump on his third jump and it was his only jump over eight meters, but it was enough for the 26-year-old, who will celebrate his 27th birthday later this month. This was Nairn’s fifth competition of the season and his second victory of the season. His previous season’s best was 8.10m (26’ 7”), which he did to win the event at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Gabrone, Botswana.
Charlton powered her way to a fourth-place finish in the women’s 100m hurdles when she clocked 12.85 seconds. It was the sixth time this season that she ran sub-13 seconds.
Winning that race was Nigerian Tobi Amusan, who ran a time of 12.52 seconds. Ireland’s Sarah Lavin was second in a personal best time of 12.73 seconds. Finishing third was Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska, who crossed the finish line in 12.78 seconds.
It was a great improvement from Charlton’s performance last week at the 62nd Ostrava Golden Spike, at Mestský Stadion in Ostrava, Czech Republic. At that meet, she finished seventh with a time of 13.01 seconds. Before that, she tied a season’s best 12.64 seconds at the fifth Irena Szewińska Memorial, at Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium, Bydgoszcz, on June 6.
Both Charlton and Nairn are expected to compete at this week’s Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Junior and Senior Track and Field Championships, set for July 5-7.