01-04-2025
Which Men's Athletes Are Racing Grand Slam Track? GST Looks To Have Perfect Start In Kingston
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 06: Cole Hocker of Team United States celebrates winning the gold medal after ... More the Men's 1500m Final on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by)
We are just days away from the debut of Grand Slam Track, the new track league hoping to shake up the way fans watch the sport of track and field.
Of course, there will be no field events here, but league founder and commissioner Michael Johnson, a 4-time Olympic gold medalist who at one-time held the world record for 200 and 400 meters, is hoping a new format and the globe's biggest stars will draw more than its fair share of storylines and create a blueprint for success down the road.
The first installment of Grand Slam Track will take place in Kingston, Jamaica, and will feature action on a brand-new resurfaced track at National Stadium from April 4-6. Viewers can stream the entire series on Peacock over three days, while The CW will carry the meet on April 5-6 for U.S. audiences on a linear network.
What are the top storylines on the men's side? We have you covered.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MARCH 3: Bryce Hoppel of the United States celebrates as he crosses the finish ... More line first in the Mens 800m Final during day three of the World Athletics Indoor Championships at Emirates Arena on March 3, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by)
One of the league's strongest event groupings is in its short distance category, where every single Olympic medalist at 1,500 meters will take part and two of three from the mens' 800 meter medal stand will also feature.
This is where things will get interesting in Jamaica.
Olympic 1,500 meter gold medalist Cole Hocker ran an Olympic-record of 3:27.65 to win in Paris over Great Britain's Josh Kerr and the U.S.'s Yared Nuguse, but he's no slouch at 800 meters, either, holding a personal best of 1:45.63 from just last year. The men's 1,500 meters will take place on Saturday at 6:50 p.m. EST, while the 800 meter final will follow on Sunday at 3:39 p.m.
Given that this is largely everyone's outdoor opener in 2025—Canada's Marco Arop will be the only athlete who has raced on an outdoor track ahead of the competition—that could equal out the playing field across distances.
But then again, with $100,00 on the line for the winner, we may not see conservative racing, either.
The American Bryce Hoppel, who finished fourth in the Olympic final at 800 meters, will enter having clocked the world's third-fastest time of the year at the distance from February, when he finished second in at the Millrose Games in 1:44.19.
Nuguse, meanwhile, went out and broke a world record in the mile in that same venue, hitting 3:46.63 on the clock to win the Wanamaker Mile–until, of course, it only lasted five days, with Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen breaking it in France in 3:45.14.
Ultimately, it will be curious to see how the world's best men toggle between distances. Hocker, Kerr and Nuguse went 1-2-3 in the men's 1,500 meters in Paris and ran some of the top performances of all-time. What's the winning formula here?
There's no doubt any of them can't hold their own in the 800 meters.
But when push comes to shove, will any of the metric mile specialists hold a candle to men who can spit out times of 1:41 for two laps? None has broken 1:45 over their careers.
So that's where things get trickier. Kenya's Wanyonyi and Canada's Arop were absolutely devilish in the Olympic final, the pair both dropping sub-1:42 times en route to their 1-2 finish.
With so much money on the line for first-place finishers – and a total of $80,000 for second through third – it's not simply a matter of racing competitively. Livelihoods could change with two great performances on the track in Kingston Stadium.
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 01: Fred Kerley of Team United States reacts after finishing second in the ... More Men's 100m Final on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 01, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - AUGUST 19: Oblique Seville of Team Jamaica reacts prior to heat 5 in the Men's ... More 100m during day one of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 19, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by)
With the absecences of Olympic 100 meter gold medalist Noah Lyles and Olympic silver medalist Kishane Thompson, the men's short sprints category will be without two of its biggest stars.
Instead, only two Olympic medalists will feature this weekend across the 100 and 200 meters—the Americans Fred Kerley (100 meters) and Kenny Bednarek (200 meters).
But that just opens the door for new stars to emerge.
Kerley should be the main attraction. The Texas native opened his 2025 outdoor season this past weekend at the Texas Relays, contributing his part in two 4x100 and 4x400 relays on the final day of action in Austin.
Over his history, he's been one of the world's most electric sprinters, holding personal records of 9.76 in the 100 meters and 19.76 for 200 meters. He ran 9.81 in Paris to finish third overall in the Olympic final and earn his second straight medal, while he finished the year in September in Switzerland at 200 meters, clocking a time of 19.81.
But he's also arriving following some controversy in the offseason. Kerley was booked by the Miami Beach police in January after an altercation and was handed charges after he was involved in a physical confrontation with officers. Kerley pled not guilty in February and awaits further information as his situation plays out.
Kerley may be able to internalize his off-the-track situation, but he'll also have to contend with the likes of Bednarek and Jamaica's Oblique Seville. The duo finished seventh and eight in the 100 meters in Paris, while Bednarek was a silver medalist in the 200 meters.
Which brings us to the structure of Grand Slam Track, and how that may serve more well-rounded athletes. It might suit someone like Bednarek perfectly, as he's the kind of athlete who can produce across distances with relative ease. The Wisconsin native has run personal best times of 9.87 and 19.5 over the two disciplines, which arguably makes him one of the favorites to walk away with the short sprints title. Then again, points matter, and if Bednarek doesn't win, he might be out of the running for a major prize.
Seville will be a hometown favorite. The Jamaican, along with Ackeem Blake, should get fans in Kingston rooting for the sprinters to vie for titles across each distance. Just last year, Seville ran 9.82 in the Jamaica Championships to win a national title.
MUNICH, GERMANY - AUGUST 17: Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain celebrates after winning gold in ... More the Men's 400m Final during the Athletics competition on day 7 of the European Championships Munich 2022 at Olympiapark on August 17, 2022 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by)
Grand Slam Track announced a total of 10 scratches for the opener this weekend in Jamaica, including Olympic 400 meter gold medalist Quincy Hall.
The news was a gut-punch for a league that's hoping for its first weekend to go perfectly, but in truth it was also not shocking. It becomes unsuitable for athletes to race less than 100 percent when their careers are on the line, and with contracts and performance incentives all tied to performing in meets across the year – running with a nagging issue could ultimately create a larger problem, which is why scratches are a smart play.
It hurts no less to see Hall, one of the sport's best watches, out of the field. In his place comes a new challenger, the Jamaican Deandre Watkin.
But the long sprints—a category featuring the 200 and 400 meters distances—is one of the deeper categories at Grand Slam Track, with Olympic silver and bronze medalists Matthew Hudson-Smith and Muzala Samukonga both taking part.
The Great Britain athlete Hudson-Smith clocked 43.44 in Paris to earn his first medal, while Samukonga had a crazy finish of his own to net a time of 43.74.
The wildcard here might be the American Chris Bailey, who just earned a World Championship gold medal in March, leading a 1-2-3 contingent of U.S. athletes across the line in China with a time of 45.08.
He went on to win gold in the 4x400, too, helping the Americans to a time of 3:03.13.
To be frank, opportunities like this are meant for Bailey, who owns a personal best of 44.31 seconds. The 24-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia has a small sponsorship with Tracksmith, but winning $100,000 could change his life.
Featuring six event groups and 12 total races across the three-day event series, the league will field eight athletes on the line for every moment on the track.
Grand Slam Track will feature four 'racers' against four 'challengers,' giving each event discipline ample competition and enough see-saw action to see things get spicy by race's end.
The short sprints category will feature athletes at 100 meters and 200 meters; the short hurdles will showcase athletes at the 100 and 110 meter hurdle discipline and the 100 meters; short distance will comprise of events at 800 meters and 1,500 meters; long distance will highlight races at 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters; long sprints will boast performances at 200 meters and 400 meters; and long hurdle athletes will vie for placement at 400 meter hurdles and 400 meters.
EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 30: Gold medalist Grant Fisher looks on with a flag and the gold medal after ... More winning the men's 5000 meter final on Day Ten of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field on June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by)
In the short sprints, Kenny Bednarek, Zharnel Hughes, Fred Kerley and Oblique Seville are racers. Ackeem Blake, Joseph Fahnbulleh, Terrence Jones and Courtney Lindsay are challengers.
In the long sprints, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Jereem Richards and Muzala Samukonga are racers. Chris Bailey, Zandrion Barnes, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi, Vernon Norwood and Deandre Watkin are challengers.
In the short distance, Marco Arop, Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse are racers. Mohamed Attaoui, Neil Gourley, Bryce Hoppel and Emmanuel Wanyonyi are challengers.
In the long hurdles, Roshawn Clarke, Caleb Dean, Alison dos Santos and Clément Ducos are racers. CJ Allen, Malik James-King, Chris Robinson and Assinie Wison are challengers.
In the long distance, Grant Fisher, Hagos Gebrhiwet, Luis Grijalva and Ronald Kwemoi are racers. Telahun Haile Bekele, Dylan Jacobs, Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot and Cooper Teare are challengers.
In the short hurdles, Devon Allen, Freddie Crittenden, Daniel Roberts and Sasha Zhoya are racers. Dylan Beard, Orlando Bennett, Eric Edwards, Omar McLeod and Cordell Tinch are challengers.
Alas, one of the biggest weekends of track is upon us with the debut of Grand Slam Track.
