The 116th Millrose Games kicked off with a rousing start as Devynne Charlton shattered the mark in the Women's 60-metre hurdles.
The 116th Millrose Games kicked off with a rousing start as Bahamian sprinter Devynne Charlton shattered the mark in the Women’s 60-metre hurdles. In the process Charlton continued her standout season in the 60m hurdles, reclaiming her former world lead (WL) with a world record of 7.67 on Sunday.
Moreover, Charlton broke the old mark of 7.68 set by Sweden’s Susanna Kallur in 2008 at Karlsruhe, Germany, to win the race by 0.12 of a second over Jamaica’s Danielle Williams with American Tia Jones third in the same time.
“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,” Charlton told World Athletics.” “I can’t describe that moment. 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,” she added.
This season, Charlton has competed in seven 60m hurdles races, finishing under 8 seconds in each. Her performances included two sub-7.80 runs: a 7.75 that earned her a win at the Corky Classic with a new national record (NR) for the Bahamas and WL, and a 7.76 effort that surprisingly only secured third place behind Jones’ 7.72 and Nigerian Tobi Amusan’s 7.75.
Apart from Charlton’s record-breaking run, Britain’s Josh Kerr also squashed his compatriot, Mo Farah’s record in the the men’s two miles.
Kerr, the gold medallist in the 1,500 metres at last year’s world championships in Budapest, had said in recent weeks that he was aiming for the record.
The Olympic bronze medallist, who was spotted taking the New York subway to the meeting, ran eight minutes 0.67 seconds to break the previous mark of 8:03.40 set by British running great Farah in 2015 and pointed a triumphant finger in the air just before the finish line.
Read more: World Athletics Continental Tour 2024: Find the Calendar here
“Running two four-minute miles back to back is a little harder than you would think, or I thought anyway; I was so glad I was able to come up with not only the win but getting that record,” Kerr told reporters.
“(The record) hasn’t sunk in but I think that’s the level of athlete I’ve become. I had to roll with the punches throughout the start of my career, pretty good but not world-class and then to be world-class and now I’m world champion I’m having fun with it,” the Scot added. “Creating big goals to get myself out the door and prove I’m not all talk.” Earlier, Grant Fisher broke the American record by finishing second in 8:03.62.
Read more: World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024: First look at the medals
Get the latest from Sportslumo.com by following us on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Follow Us
