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13 March, 2025

By Grand Slam Track

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Full group of 48 Challengers revealed; will compete against 48 Racers for largest prize money pool ever offered in the sport; Full competition timetable also announced.

New York, NY (March 13, 2024) - Grand Slam Track™, the global home of professional track competition launched by four-time Olympic Champion Michael Johnson, today officially announced the full field of 96 Racers & Challengers who will compete in the Kingston Slam - the inaugural event in the league’s existence - April 4th to 6th. These announcements now mean fans know all 96 competitors who will each race twice across the weekend in Kingston. Challengers will be announced in due course to compete at each of the Slams in Miami, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.

The Challengers announced today are headlined by international superstars like Grace Stark, Dalilah Muhammad, Ackeem Blake, Favour Ofili, and Dominic Lobalu. Unfortunately, signed Racers Devon Allen and Luis Grijalva will miss the Kingston Slam due to injuries. An additional Challenger has been added to each of their event groups as a result. The addition of these Challengers takes the number of nations represented across the 96 competitors to 22, exemplifying Grand Slam Track™’s reach as a global league.

“We are delighted to announce the final group of Challengers to round out our first ever Grand Slam Track™ fields for the Kingston Slam,” said Michael Johnson, the league’s founder and Commissioner. “The 96 competitors will put on a show for the world to see. I hope you can join us in Kingston for this festival of speed. We are so excited to get to Jamaica and celebrate our wonderful sport at the National Stadium.”

Grand Slam Track will stream live on Peacock in the US, with The CW broadcasting linear coverage of Saturday and Sunday of all Slams. TNT Sports will provide coverage in the UK and Ireland, whilst Eurosport will carry the broadcast in Europe and Asia. More global television deals will be announced soon.

Fans are able to buy tickets for the Slam in Kingston knowing that these 96 competitors will be in attendance. Tickets for the other three Slams (Miami, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles) are also on sale now. For more information, please visit https://grandslamtrack.com/events

Full Kingston Slam Event Groups and Start Lists (® denotes Racer; © denotes Challenger, newly announced names in bold):

Men’s Short Sprints: Kenny Bednarek ®, Fred Kerley ®, Oblique Seville ®, Zharnel Hughes ®, Courtney Lindsey ©, Ackeem Blake ©, Terrence Jones ©, Joseph Fahnbulleh ©.

Women’s Short Sprints: Brittany Brown ®, Daryll Neita ®, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ®, Alana Reid ©, Jacious Sears ©, Tamara Clark ©, Favour Ofili ©, Kemba Nelson ©.'

Men’s Long Sprints: Quincy Hall ®, Muzala Samukonga ®, Matthew Hudson-Smith ®, Jereem Richards ®, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi ©, Vernon Norwood ©, Chris Bailey ©, Deandre Watkin ©.

Women’s Long Sprints: Gabby Thomas ®, Nickisha Pryce ®, Alexis Holmes ®, Marileidy Paulino ®, Salwa Eid Naser ®, Dina Asher-Smith ©, Talitha Diggs ©, Stacey Ann Williams ©.

Men’s Short Hurdles: Freddie Crittenden ®, Sasha Zhoya ®, Daniel Roberts ®, Orlando Bennett ©, Hansle Parchment ©, Cordell Tinch ©, Cameron Murray ©, Dylan Beard ©.

Women’s Short Hurdles: Ackera Nugent ®, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ®, Masai Russell ®, Cyréna Samba-Mayela ®, Danielle Williams ©, Grace Stark ©, Denisha Cartwright ©, Alia Armstrong ©.

Men’s Long Hurdles: Clément Ducos ®, Alison Dos Santos ®, Caleb Dean ®, Roshawn Clarke ®, Malik James-King ©, CJ Allen ©, Chris Robinson ©, Trevor Bassitt ©.

Women’s Long Hurdles: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ®, Shamier Little ®, Rushell Clayton ®, Jasmine Jones ®, Shiann Salmon ©, Cathelijn Peeters ©, Andrenette Knight ©, Dalilah Muhammad ©.

Men’s Short Distance: Cole Hocker ®, Josh Kerr ®, Yared Nuguse ®, Marco Arop ®, Emmanuel Wanyonyi ©, Bryce Hoppel ©, Neil Gourley ©, Mohamed Attaoui ©.

Women’s Short Distance: Jess Hull ®, Nikki Hiltz ®, Diribe Welteji ®, Mary Moraa ®, Nelly Chepchirchir ©, Heather MacLean ©, Natoya Goule-Toppin ©, Susan Ejore ©.

Men’s Long Distance: Grant Fisher ®, Ronald Kwemoi ®, Hagos Gebrhiwet ®, Cooper Teare ©, Thierry Ndikumwenayo ©, Dominic Lobalu ©, Dylan Jacobs ©, Telahun Haile Bekele ©.

Women’s Long Distance: Nozomi Tanaka ®, Tsige Gebreselama ®, Agnes Ngetich ®, Elise Cranny ®, Hellen Ekalale ©, Whittni Morgan ©, Melissa Courtney-Bryant ©, Ejgayehu Taye ©.

Kingston Slam Competition Timeline

*All times listed are in local time in Kingston. Please note that Jamaica does not observe Daylight Savings, and as such Kingston is currently on Eastern Standard Time. This equates to a one-hour time difference between Kingston and Eastern Daylight Time cities, like New York. The schedule is subject to change.

Day 1, Friday April 4, 2025

Day 2, Saturday April 5, 2025

Day 3, Sunday April 6, 2025

The winner of each Slam group will take home $100,000 in prize money, and the 8th place competitor will earn $10,000. Grand Slam Track™ will have a total of $12.6m in prize money that will be awarded across the Slams each year in addition to the base compensation paid to Racers and appearance fees paid to Challengers.

The focus of Grand Slam Track™ is on head to head competition, not winning times. There will be no rabbits or pacing lights. Each Slam is equally as important as any other, will have its own prize purse, and will be independently scored, with points and previous finishes not carrying over to the following Slams. All competitors will compete twice over the three-day event, and all Slam events will meet World Athletics regulations, with achieved marks being eligible for rankings and standards.

For further information, please follow @GrandSlamTrack on all social media platforms, and visit grandslamtrack.com.

About Grand Slam Track

Grand Slam Track™ is the global home of elite track competition founded by four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson. The league is redefining the landscape of track with a focus on head-to-head competition between the fastest humans on the planet: fostering rivalries, celebrating racing, and putting fans first. The league features a roster of 48 Racers signed to compete in four annual Slams and includes superstars like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, Quincy Hall, Josh Kerr, Marileidy Paulino, and many more. These Racers compete against 48 Challengers, who vary per Slam; each Slam features the largest and deepest prize purse in the history of the sport. The inaugural Grand Slam Track™ season in 2025 sees Slams take place in Kingston, Jamaica; Miami; Philadelphia; and Los Angeles. For more information, visit grandslamtrack.com.

About Michael Johnson

Born in Dallas, Texas, Michael Johnson is a Hall of Fame track and field star, universally recognized as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships across his career, and held world and Olympic records in both the 200m and 400m races. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Johnson became the first and only male athlete to win the Gold medal in both the 200m and 400m at the same Olympics. Since retiring from active competition, Johnson has become a serial entrepreneur and investor, as well as highly sought after performance mindset speaker and an award winning television commentator. Johnson has been a pundit for the BBC’s coverage of every Olympics Games since Athens 2004, and remains a key voice on, and advocate for the sport. Johnson was inducted into the United States Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Ben Sosenko
[email protected]

Callum Squires
[email protected]

On behalf of Grand Slam Track