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Millrose Games: 22YO Bahamas Athlete Destroys US Champion to Register New World Record

Published 02/11/2024, 1:26 PM EST

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The 60m women’s hurdles event saw the American athletes get defeated on home soil by an explosive talent from the Bahamas. The 22-year-old didn’t just leave her competition behind, but every athlete in history at the 116th Millrose Games.

Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas has secured the first position at the New York City event and clocked 7.67 seconds. Charlton started her 2024 season with a blast and had already recorded three great runs before the Millrose Games. One of these runs saw the hurdler bag a national record at 7.75 seconds. However, now she has outdone the entire world with her new finishing time.

The Bahaman athlete faced some of the greatest competitors in the world as the event was chock full of athletes who had proven their mettle. The Millrose Games event saw Charlton go up against Jamaican hurdler and World Champion Danielle Williams. America’s Tia Jones, who’s a former world number one in the event was also one of her competitors.

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But, the Millrose Games competition didn’t matter for Devynne Charlton. Especially since she even surpassed the hurdlers who weren’t present at the event or were born at a different time. The 22-year-old took an early lead and didn’t yield it at any point, finishing the race before others in a flash. The previous record was held by Sweden’s Susanna Kallur with 7.68 seconds on the clock.

The 2008 record has now finally received an upgrade after 16 long years. Speaking after her formidable victory, Charlton said, “I heard the announcer say something that sounded like ‘world record’, but it didn’t hit me until I saw my name and time on the clock… I can’t describe that moment.” 

She further noted, “When I saw that clock, I felt relief. When you set a goal and work towards it all year, and then you achieve it, it makes you feel you’re on top of the world.” Interestingly, the young hurdler knew that she was going to shatter the world record. In fact, she also knew she would be doing it at the Millrose Games.

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Believing that she would make it big at the Millrose Games

Devynne Charlton spoke about her preparation and the effort that she had to make to secure the world record at the Millrose Games. She said, “I knew I had it in me but it took a lot to put that race together… I felt good in my prep heading up to today. I got the start that I needed. I just held it. I can’t say it was more than that.”

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While she just registered herself as the greatest 60m hurdler of all time, she still humbly paid respect to all her competitors. The young hurdler noted, “I knew it was there… But it’s all about executing the race and crossing the line first. So many of these ladies have the capability to do it.” With this, Devynne Charlton’s Millrose Games stint turned out to be a world-conquering experience. Will she be able to showcase the same speed in longer courses and make waves at the Paris Olympics?

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Written by:

Ankit Singh

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Ankit Singh is a senior Olympic Sports correspondent at EssentiallySports who covers gymnastics, track and field, and the NCAA Women's Division 1 Volleyball. In his early days at ES, Ankit covered two prime track and field events - the 2023 World Athletics Championships and the 2023 Prefontaine Classic. During the 2023 NCAA Division 1 women’s Volleyball championships, Ankit wrote his perspectives on the Nebraska Huskers and the Wisconsin Badgers rivalry, and later covered the transfer portals after the Texas Longhorns lifted the victory.
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Edited by:

Arnima Shukla