GRAND SLAM TRACK™ Announces Signing of Triple US Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Thomas

Gold Medalist for Team USA in 200m, 4x100m, & 4x400m signed to compete in all four Slams of 2025 season

New York, NY (November 26, 2024) - Grand Slam Track™, the new global home of professional track competition, launched earlier this year by four-time US Olympic Champion Michael Johnson, today officially announced the signing of triple US Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Thomas. Thomas set the track world on fire with her performance in the Olympic 200m final in Paris, easing to a landslide victory in a time of 21.83. The Harvard University product also won gold as part of both Team USA women’s sprint relay teams, including running an American record and the second-fastest time ever in the 4x400, at 3:15.27. Thomas signing with Grand Slam Track™ means fans around the globe will see her compete against the best in the world across all four Slam weekends in 2025. 

“This is an incredibly exciting day for all of us at Grand Slam Track™,” said Michael Johnson, the league’s founder and Commissioner. “Gabby was unquestionably one of the biggest superstars to come out of Paris, and for us to bring her excellence, exceptional speed, and tenacious competitive spirit to our league is a huge moment for us. What’s even more important is that this ensures fans around the world will get to see Gabby compete against the fastest women in the world four times a year at our Slams. We’ve been saying it and we mean it; we’re calling all rivals, and we want only the fastest. Gabby is a true American hero, and one of the most impactful athletes of 2024; we couldn’t be happier to be adding her as a signed Racer for Grand Slam Track™.”

Thomas was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but hails from Northampton, Massachusetts. A prodigious talent, she won 22 Conference titles in her three years of intercollegiate athletics with Harvard, setting school and Ivy League records in the 100m, 200m, and indoor 60m. She won Bronze in the 200m and Silver in the 4x100m at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, and followed that up with a 1st place finish in the 4x100m and a 2nd place finish in the 200m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Now, her three gold medals in Paris have truly confirmed her arrival as the new queen of sprinting, and Thomas will seek to prove her dominance by taking on all challengers at all four Grand Slam Track™ Slams in 2025. Fans will now be able to buy tickets for the Slams in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles knowing that the triple Gold medal winner will be in attendance and racing twice during each weekend. Tickets for all four Slams will go on sale on Friday, December 6th, at 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern. For more information, please visit https://grandslamtrack.com/events  

“I am so excited to be joining Grand Slam Track™, and partnering with Michael Johnson to give our sport the platform it deserves,” said Thomas. “Coming off of the Olympics, I want to continue testing myself and competing at the highest level against the fastest women in the world. Grand Slam Track™ allows us that chance in 2025.  Michael’s vision is incredibly exciting, and I can’t wait to give the millions of track fans around the world even more chances to watch us compete. I look forward to seeing all of our fans at the four Slams next year.”

Each year, 48 athletes will be named to the league as Grand Slam Track™ Racers. The addition of Thomas takes the tally of announced Racers as signees to 38. The roster of Racers already  announced features stars from across the world of track like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Melissa Jefferson, Masai Russell, Quincy Hall, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, Grant Fisher, Josh Kerr, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Ackera Nugent, Roshawn Clarke, Nikki Hiltz, Cyrena Samba-Mayela, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Alison Dos Santos, Ronald Kwemoi, Muzala Samukonga, Clement Ducos, Marileidy Paulino, Jess Hull, Daniel Roberts, Shamier Little, Marco Arop, Devon Allen, Jasmine Jones, Jereem Richards, Luis Grijalva, Rushell Clayton, Elise Cranny, Nozomi Tanaka, Salwa Eid Naser, Daryll Neita, Mary Moraa, Agnes Ngetich, & Tsigie Gebreselama. These racers are selected by the Grand Slam Track™ Racing Committee based on a combination of factors to include the fastest and best racers in each race group, with a focus on fierce rivalries and thrilling competitive racing. GST Racers commit to racing in all four Slams per year. They will receive an annual base compensation for racing in each Slam and are eligible for full prize money. These GST Racers will receive annual contracts, access to the GST content and data services team, inclusion in the league collective, group licensing and new revenue opportunities, plus access to world class athlete support services throughout the season. GST racers are compensated under contract to race and promote the league and receive additional marketing and branding support.

The remaining 48 racers will be known as GST Challengers and will be paid a set appearance fee to compete at individual Slams. GST Challengers are chosen by the Grand Slam Track™ Racing Committee based on a combination of factors including recent performances, and the most intriguing athletes and matchups. 

Racers and Challengers will be assigned to compete in one of the following categories, and will all race in two events during each Slam: short sprints (100m/200m), short hurdles (100H or 110H/100m), long sprints (200m/400m), long hurdles (400H/400m), short distance (800m/1500m), or long distance (3000m/5000m). All competitors’ final placement score will be determined by their combined finishing order between the two races. In the event of a tie across the two events, it will be the athlete who had the quickest combined time across the two races who will be deemed the winner. 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 of prize money that will be awarded across the slams each year in addition to the base compensation and appearance fees paid to racers. 

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 racers 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. 

Racers will compete in their own sponsored kits, without traditional hip numbers or bibs. Racers and Challengers are encouraged to work with their sponsors to create customized kits, in their own desired style. Grand Slam Track™ has no affiliation or sponsorship agreement with any shoe company; all shoe companies are considered to be important stakeholders and partners in the promotion of our racers.

Grand Slam Track™ has secured more than $30 million in financial commitments from investors and strategic partners for the launch of the league. Winners Alliance, a global, athlete-centric commercial solution and Johnson’s operating partner, was the lead investor in the first fundraising close for the new venture. The investment in the league will aid in Johnson’s ultimate goal: to develop better engagement with fans by promoting track and field’s biggest stars and reaching new audiences with unique, innovative storytelling.

For further information, please follow @GrandSlamTrack on all social media platforms, and 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