GRAND SLAM TRACK™ Announces Signing of US Olympic Double Medalist Melissa Jefferson

Part of the Gold Medal-winning 4x100m relay squad, Jefferson also brought home bronze in the 100m for Team USA in Paris.

New York, NY (September 19, 2024) - Grand Slam Track™, the new global home of professional track competition, launched earlier this summer by four-time US Olympic Champion Michael Johnson, today officially announced the signing of US Olympic double medalist Melissa Jefferson. Jefferson claimed the bronze medal in the 100m at the Paris Olympics this summer, as well as being a member of Team USA’s gold medal winning 4x100m relay squad. She is also a two-time world champion in the 4x100m relay, as well as winning Gold in the 4x100m at the 2024 World Relays in Nassau. Grand Slam Track™ fans worldwide will now get to see Jefferson compete against the other fastest women in the world across all four Slam weekends in 2025.

“Our roster of racers continues to go from strength to strength, and the addition of Melissa is the next step forward for Grand Slam Track™,” said Michael Johnson, the league’s founder and Commissioner. “Melissa is a superb athlete, and quite clearly one of the fastest women in the world. Her exploits in Paris this summer only continued to prove just how talented she is, and having such an impressive first Olympic Games show exactly why we wanted her to be a part of Grand Slam Track™. Melissa expresses an infectious joy when racing, and we can't wait to see it at our Slams. We’re delighted to bring her into the GST family, and I know track fans all around the world will be excited to see her burning down the home straight in all four of our Slams in 2025.”

Jefferson, from Georgetown, South Carolina, competed collegiately for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, where she won the national title in the 60m at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in 2022, with a personal best time of 7.09. She then helped Team USA claim the world championship in back to back years at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships, plus added Gold in the 2024 World Relays in a time of 41.85. This past summer, at her first Olympic Games, Jefferson won the Bronze medal in the 100m, running 10.92, and helped Team USA claim the Gold medal in an electrifying race, with a time of 41.48 seconds.

“I’m delighted to have signed with Grand Slam Track™, and cannot wait to get started with this incredibly exciting league,” said Jefferson. “The opportunity to be a part of a project like this - which is changing our sport for the better, forever - is an honor and a privilege. Michael’s vision for the league is fantastic, and their desire to put athletes and fans first is so refreshing. I firmly believe Grand Slam Track™ is going to be a massive step forward for our sport. I’m looking forward to seeing the fans at our four Slams in 2025, and competing on the track to find out who truly is the fastest woman in the world.”

Each year, 48 athletes will be named to the league as GST Racers. Jefferson and her Team USA teammates Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, plus Team GB’s Josh Kerr, are the first eight of these 48 to be announced. 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.

Ticket sales information will be released in due course. 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