By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas will be represented by a five-member contingent at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships slated for March 21-23 in Nanjing, China.

Team Bahamas will feature world indoor record holder and indoor champion Devynne Charlton, indoor long jump national record holder Anthaya Charlton, Olympian Denisha Cartwright along with sprinter Camille Rutherford and quarter-miler Wendell Miller.

The five-member team will be led by head coach Bernard Rolle and managed by Foster Dorsett.

Dr Kent Bazard will serve as the team doctor and Drumeco Archer, president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA), will travel as the head of delegation. 

Dorsett noted that the team is expected to perform well at the World Indoors. 

“We are expecting to perform well. With Devynne being the World indoor record holder and defending champion, we expect her to do extremely well and the other girls are right up there. We expect some good results from this team. It is small but I think it is a very quality team,” he said.

All eyes will be on the world indoor record holder and the 2024 women’s 60m hurdles gold medallist Devynne Charlton.

The Olympian had a storybook indoor season last year which climaxed with her winning the women’s 60m hurdles event with a world record of 7.65 seconds at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

Charlton, who ended last season with a right foot injury, currently owns a season’s best time of 7.83 seconds achieved at the 2025 Millrose Games in New York.

Dorsett is confident that Charlton can defend her title in the 60m hurdles event.

“I think she can do it because she is accustomed to that type of competition. I think she knows that she has a mark on her back in terms of people coming after her and I think she will rise to the occasion. She has been in these types of situations before where she is the favourite or one of the top three so I expect her to do well and I think she has that mindset to do well on this stage,” he said.

Charlton’s younger sister Anthaya will look to turn some heads on the global stage in the women’s 60m and long jump events.

She had a standout performance earlier in the year at the 2025 Razorback Invitational in January.

She soared to a new indoor national record with a personal best jump of 6.98m in the women’s long jump event. 

The University of Florida student also has a season’s best time of 7.24 seconds in the 60m event going into the upcoming World Indoors.

“I expect Anthaya to perform well with her sister being there and I think she has been at that type of competition in college and was able to perform there,” said Dorsett.

“This will be her first time on a big stage. She was a CARIFTA gold medallist but this is now the senior stage and she has had some practice with the collegiate circuit. She is confident, she wants to be there and I think she will perform well.”

As for the remaining members of Team Bahamas, Cartwright will also compete in the women’s 60m hurdles.

Rutherford is set to compete alongside Anthaya in the women’s 60m event and Miller will compete in the men’s 400m event.

Team Bahamas will make their commute from their respective training grounds early next week to meet in Nanjing by March 19.

The Bahamas finished with one gold medal and in a seven-way tie for ninth place at the 2024 World Indoor Championships last indoor season.