Bahamian grabs sole win for Caribbean at indoor meet

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CMC):

A win for Bahamian hurdler Devynne Charlton, a silver medallist at the World Indoor Championships last year, was among headline acts from English-speaking Caribbean athletes attending the second World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet on Saturday.

Charlton, 27, won the women's 50 metres hurdles in 7.87 seconds, prevailing over American Sharika Nelvis by six hundredths-of-a-second, with Australian Celeste Mucci finishing third in 7.95, and Jamaican Danielle Williams, the only other Caribbean competitor in the race, grabbing fourth in 7.97.

Trinidad & Tobago Sport Personality-of-the-Year Jereem Richards had to settle for second in the men's 400.

Noah Williams of the United States found space on the inside to edge past World indoor champion Richards and take the win by four thousandths-of-a-second, both athletes recording 45.88, with Javon Francis of Jamaica taking fifth in 47.61.

Donald Thomas of the Bahamas, the 2007 World Championships winner, was second in the men's high jump with a clearance of 2.23 metres, but Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Tejaswin Shankar of India was cheered to a faultless performance up to his winning mark three centimetres higher.

Jamaicans Leah Anderson and Janieve Russell finished second and third, respectively, behind Fembe Bol of the Netherlands in the women's 500m.

Bol broke the 17-year-old world indoor best with a dominant run of one minute, 05.63 seconds, storming over the finish line to take 0.68 off the previous best of 1:06.31 set in January 2006.

Anderson clocked one minute, 08.34 seconds, and Russell finished in 1:09.18.

In other events, Jamaican Michael Campbell finished back of the seven-runner field in the men's 60 metres final in 6.79 seconds.

The race was billed as a head-to-head between winner Noah Lyles and fellow American Trayvon Bromell, the 2016 World Indoor champion, and so it proved.

It took a photo finish to separate their 6.51 runs, Lyles clocked 6.507 and Bromell 6.509.

Jamaican Adele Tracey finished eighth in the women's 3,000 metres, clocking 8:52.96 minutes, finishing way behind winner Laura Muir of Great Britain, whose time of 8:40.34 led a British top four.

Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas finished at the back of the field in the women's 60 metres final in a time of 7.40 seconds.

American Aleia Hobbs used a strong start and an even stronger finish to break the meet record with a time of 7.02 - the second fastest 60 metres performance of her career so far and a time that only 19 other athletes have ever eclipsed.

World Championships 200 metres winner Shericka Jackson of Jamaica was also testing her speed at the meet and ran 7.34, finishing fifth behind Strachan in the second qualifying heat, and did not make the final.

Jamaican Damion Thomas also failed to get out of the heats in the men's 60 metres hurdles, finishing fourth in 7.82.