Latest news with #SlamTrack
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gabby Thomas calls out Grand Slam Track heckler who bragged about winning bets, with league investigating
U.S. sprinter Gabby Thomas has called out a man who heckled her and bragged about his betting results throughout a Grand Slam Track event this weekend. Thomas, who won three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, participated in two sprinting events at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia as part of the Michael Johnson-founded track league's inaugural season. Thomas finished in second in the 200-meter sprint and fourth in the 100-meter. Advertisement After Thomas posted a recap of the weekend on X, the heckler, who uses the username "Mr 100K a day" on X, commented on the post, bragging that his taunts toward Thomas made her lose the race and included screenshots of his successful parlay bets on FanDuel Sportsbook. "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," he wrote in the comment, with a video of him harassing Thomas as she lined up for one of the events. Soon after that comment was posted, Thomas quickly pointed out the man's behavior. "This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults," Thomas said in a post on X, in response to the user's comment. "Anybody who enables him online is gross." Advertisement In response to a comment on her post, Thomas commented that she hadn't planned on calling the heckler out but changed her mind "since he's bragging." Grand Slam Track told Front Office Sports that it is investigating the user. "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video," the league told Front Office Sports in a statement. "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated." The user's screenshots indicated that he had won more than $2,000 in total off two parlays, where he bet on Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to win the 100m. In the video, the man could be heard calling Thomas a "choke job" and referenced the fact that Thomas, who is Black, was engaged to a white man, while Jefferson-Wooden, who is also Black, had married a Black man earlier this year. Advertisement In addition to the comment under Thomas' post, the user posted the same video and screenshots in a separate post hours earlier, thanking Jefferson-Wooden for helping him win his bet. "I want to thank mellissa jefferson (sic) for beating the crap out of gabby thomas at Grand Slam Track and getting me rich!!!!" he wrote. The user tagged Thomas, Jefferson-Wooden and Grand Slam Track in the post. In another post from Sunday, the user posted an interaction between him and Thomas where the sprinter asked "What are you doing here?" and jokingly called him a "heckler." The user captioned the video with a similar message. "Nice to heckle gabby thomas today and make her lose," he said, once again tagging both Thomas and Grand Slam Track. "It was my pleasure." Advertisement Thomas noted in a comment on X that she had a line when it came to the user's behavior. "I think heckling is tolerable… but following me around the stadium is weird in my opinion," she said. The user, in a direct message with USA Today on X, disputed Thomas' claim that he was following her around the stadium. The user also gave the outlet a fake name when asked for his name and where he lived, and said that he lives in Puerto Rico.
USA Today
02-05-2025
- USA Today
Fred Kerley arrested for battery ahead of Grand Slam Track event
Fred Kerley arrested for battery ahead of Grand Slam Track event U.S. Olympic sprinter Fred Kerley was arrested for misdemeanor battery Thursday after allegedly striking a woman with a closed fist at a hotel ahead of this weekend's Grand Slam Track event in Miami. Kerley, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the men's 100-meter dash, was booked into Broward County jail after allegedly encountering the woman, who told police she is Kerley's ex-girlfriend, at the hotel. According to a police report obtained Friday by USA TODAY Sports, Kerley grew aggressive and stated that he was "going to (expletive) everyone up in here." "(The woman) then advised that Kerley struck her one time in the facial area, causing her nose to bleed," the police report states. USA TODAY Sports does not identify the victims of alleged acts of domestic violence without their permission. Grand Slam Track confirmed in a statement that Kerley, who was scheduled to compete in the 100-meter dash on Saturday and the 200-meter dash on Sunday, would no longer compete at this weekend's event and declined further comment. Richard L. Cooper, an attorney for Kerley, told USA TODAY Sports in an email that he is "confident that the case lacks merit and will be dismissed in short order." "Fred looks forward to going back to what he does best: Winning races and inspiring millions of young athletes," Cooper said. Thursday's arrest came about four months after Kerley was arrested for battery upon a law enforcement officer after a confrontation with police, during which the 29-year-old was wrestled to the ground, struck repeatedly and then subdued with a stun gun. Kerley was then also charged with domestic battery in an unrelated case from 2024. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases. Kerley is one of the most well-known sprinters in the U.S. after winning Olympic medals in the 100-meter dash at each of the past two editions of the Summer Games. Originally a 400-meter runner, Kerley switched to the 100 ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where he won a surprising silver. He then won the 100-meter world title in 2022, followed by Olympic bronze in the event at the Paris Games last summer. Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
BBC News
06-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
McLaughlin-Levrone takes final Grand Slam Track prize
Double Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400m to bring to a close the inaugural Grand Slam Track meeting in Kingston, 25-year-old American followed up Friday's win in the 400m hurdles - an event for which she holds the world record – to take victory in the format's long hurdles group and win the $100,000 (£77,610) top Slam Track is a new competition which aims to bring the world's fastest athletes together for four three-day events each year, with lucrative prizes on is the brainchild of former US sprinter Michael Johnson, who says he wants to generate more interest in the race in two events across the three days and their combined results determine the champion in each category - and the $100,000 winner's categories are: Short sprints (100m and 200m)Short hurdles (100m hurdles for women, 110m hurdles for men, plus 100m for both)Long sprints (200m and 400m)Long hurdles (400m hurdles and 400m)Short distance (800m and 1500m)Long distance (3,000m and 5,000m)Both of the 'hurdles' categories include one flat race. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden emulated compatriot McLaughlin-Levrone by making it a clean sweep in the women's short sprints, while Alison dos Santos won the men's long hurdles title with victory in the Sasha Zhoya took the men's short hurdles with Jamaica's Danielle Williams winning the women's men's short distance category - which featured Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker and Britain's world champion Josh Kerr - went to Kenya's Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi. He came second in the 800m behind Canada's Marco Arop on Sunday but won Saturday's Saturday's races, Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith won the 200m to top the long sprints category, following his second place in Friday's next Grand Slam Track takes place in Miami on 2-4 May.
