By Sheldon Longley,SHELDON LONGLEY Guardian Sports Editor

Copyright thenassauguardian

TOKYO, Japan — Bahamian athletes had some strong performances as the 20th World Athletics Championships got underway at the Japan National Stadium here on Saturday.

The Charlton sisters both made the semifinals of their respective events, Terrence Jones added a semifinal appearance in the men’s 100 meters (m), and a couple other athletes came close to season’s and personal best times, in their events.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, The Bahamas was aiming to place at least two ladies in the semifinals for a second consecutive global outdoor meet. Devynne Charlton and Charisma Taylor got the job done at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, but this time, it would be just Charlton to make it through.

The Bahamian two-time world indoor champion, and world record holder, in the women’s 60m hurdles, was class personified in the heats of the women’s 100m hurdles, on Sunday.

Charlton finished second in her heat, and qualified for the semifinals with the ninth-fastest time, running 12.69 seconds. The top three athletes in each heat, and the next six fastest times, automatically qualified for the semifinals.

Taylor, and the other Bahamian in that event, Denisha Cartwright, weren’t as fortunate.

Taylor missed the semifinals by a thousandth of a second, and one spot, finishing sixth in her heat and 24th overall, in 12.96 seconds. Cartwright finished seventh in her heat, and 40th overall, in 13.50 seconds.

“I think it’s cool. The goal was to progress, and get to the next round — second and automatic qualifier, job done,” said Charlton. “I just have to put more effort into it. Execution was okay — it just could be turned up a notch. The semifinals is always the hardest to navigate. You just have to go out there and put your greatest effort forward and try to get into that final. That’s going to be the goal.”

Despite two of the three falling short, having three ladies represent The Bahamas in one event at the world championships, is a remarkable accomplishment. The same occurred, with the same three ladies, at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Taylor was distraught on her result, but encouraged. She finished with the same time as Luca Kozák, of Hungary, but lost out on a semifinal spot by a thousandth of a second. Kozák moved on, while Taylor did not.

“It’s heartbreaking. I know what I’m capable of,” said Taylor. “I put everything into this season and to see it end like that, with a time that’s definitely not my greatest, is not a good feeling. I could run that time in practice. It’s hard to see — to be knocked out by one spot is a hard feeling. I may be down now, but I’m not out. I just thank God in everything.”

Charlton encouraged her teammate to keep fighting and use the disappointment as motivation going forward.

“I would encourage her (Taylor) to keep her chin up. That’s the nature of the sport and of these events,” said Charlton. “Your character is determined by how you bounce back from these sorts of things. Don’t hang your head down. We have all been there. It’s how you handle the next competition that matters.”

Overall, there have been a number of spirited performances by Team Bahamas at the Tokyo World Championships so far.

As mentioned, this is the second straight global competition outdoors in which three Bahamians competed in the women’s 100m hurdles, and at the end of the day, Taylor came within a thousandth of a second of putting two Bahamians in the semifinals of a global meet, for a second year in a row. They already are the only two Bahamians to compete in a global final in any hurdles event, accomplishing the feat in the women’s 60m hurdles at the 20th World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2024.

Taylor, who also competes in the women’s triple jump and is battling an autoimmune disorder called alopecia which results in loss of hair, said she will have to use her experience at the world championships as a learning experience.

“I am defenitely disappointed, but I kind of feel at peace. I would expect myself to be down, because I know what I’m capable of, but I’m healthy,” she said. “I feel like I could have gotten a better start out there, but I feel like I was trying to be more technical than fast. At the end of the day, it’s a learning experience. I will definitely be doing triple jump still, but taking this year to focus on just one event. Next year, we’ll see how it goes. I’m full of surprises.”

Taylor competed in both the women’s 100m hurdles and triple jump at the 2024 Parid Olympic Games. She just missed the final in the women’s triple jump and was a semifinalist in the 100m hurdles.

Team Bahamas will be back in action today.

Devynne Charlton will compete in the semifinals of the women’s 100m hurdles at 9:05 p.m. tonight in Tokyo, 8:05 a.m. Monday morning in The Bahamas. The final is set for 10:20 p.m. tonight in Tokyo, 9:20 a.m. Monday morning in The Bahamas.