ATHLETES OF THE MONTH: Devynne Charlton & Shannon Hanna II shine in February

DEVYNNE Charlton and Shannon Hanna II excelled in athletics and wrestling to be selected as February’s Tribune Athletes of the Month.

The Tribune Sports section will recognise the efforts of athletes across all sporting disciplines and award a male and female candidate at the end of each respective month, culminating with athlete of the year.

Charlton and Hanna both made The Bahamas proud this month in their respective sporting disciplines.

Devynne Charlton -

Female Winner

The co-women’s world indoor 60 metres hurdles record holder had a February to remember. She locked up the Tribune’s Female Athlete of the Month honours for a second consecutive time after her world-record performance at the Millrose Games in New York on February 11.

The 28-year-old clocked 7.67 seconds to break the 16-year-old record of 7.68 seconds set by Susanna Kallur in 2008.

The feat placed her on the short list of Bahamians to set world records which includes Danny Smith, Shaunae Miller- Uibo, Steven Gardiner and Thomas A Robinson.

Charlton’s achievement was not only a world indoor record but also a national record as she lowered her previous time of 7.75 seconds set in January.

Over the weekend, the top hurdler also won the World Indoor Tour Title at the World Indoor Tour Gold Madrid in Gallur, Madrid. She notched a time of 7.79 seconds in the heats and then ran 7.68 seconds in the finals which was just 0.01 seconds shy of her world record.

The win gave Charlton a one-point advantage over Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan 28 to 27 leading to a title victory.

Fuelled by her strongest season up to this point in the women’s 60mH, Charlton is expected to be in top form at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships scheduled for March 1-3 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Shannon Hanna II -

Male Winner

Hanna, two-time Southern conference wrestling champion, secured the Bahamas’ first international medal in wrestling at the 2024 Pan American Wrestling Championships in Acapulco, Mexico, over the weekend.

He was awarded the bronze medal and defeated two of his three opponents in the 65kg freestyle division en route to a third podium position.

The Campbell University graduate student knocked off Peru’s Auccapina Pedragas Sixto Miguel in the qualification round 4-1.

Additionally, he picked up a win against the Dominican Republic’s Albaro Rudecindo Camacho 11-9.

The 22-year-old’s only loss at the Pan-Am Wrestling Championships came against Argentina’s Agustin Alejanadro Destribats, 5-2.

The bronze medallist is currently on a quest to become the first Bahamian amateur wrestler in over five decades to represent The Bahamas at the Olympic level for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Stay tuned for The Tribune Athletes of the Month in March.

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