# Grand Slam Track

Grand Slam Track is an upcoming professional track and field league that was announced in 2024 by American former Olympic champion sprinter Michael Johnson. The first season is due to run from April to September 2025. After being initially announced in February 2024, the name of the league and other details were announced at a June 2024 press conference in Los Angeles hosted by John Anderson.

## Development

Former sprinter Michael Johnson, who had had the idea for Grand Slam Track since the 1990s, announced in February 2024 his intention to launch a track and field league in 2025. The league would include a series of events during the track season between April and September. Johnson was reported to be investing money in the league.
The announcement of the League in February 2024 came with the stated aims to increase and boost the sport of track and field in public consciousness and to promote the sport outside the four-yearly cycle of Olympic Games. One of the aims is for the Track and Field League to resemble other sports leagues, with global athletes. As opposed to once every four years like the Olympic Games, the Grand Slam Track league will occur four times every year.
In May 2024, former middle-distance runner Kyle Merber confirmed he was employed as Senior Director of Racing. Olympic champion and former sprinter Morolake Akinosun was announced as the Head of Athlete Relations in September 2024.
Among the first athletes to sign-up for the events in June 2024 were double Olympic champion 400 m hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and 2023 world champion and 2024 Olympic silver medalist in the 1500 m Josh Kerr. In September 2024, it was confirmed that Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse, the 2024 Olympic gold and bronze medalists respectively in the 1500 metres, had signed onto the league. During this month sprinters Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley also signed onto the league.
On 13 September 2024, LetsRun.com reported that the Grand Slam Track meet locations would be in Los Angeles, New York City, Kingston, Jamaica, and Birmingham with the events being held during two weeks in April and two in May, noting that they had not yet confirmed the information with a second source. In November 2024, Grand Slam Track officially announced the four locations as Kingston, Los Angeles, Miramar, and Philadelphia.
By 19 December 2024, the entire set of racers for the 2025 season was announced. The roster included 13 individual global gold medalists, although notable omissions included Noah Lyles and Sha'Carri Richardson.

## Overview

The league will have four "grand slam" events, or meetings, a season from April to September, including one in Los Angeles, one in another American city, and two in international cities. In each "Grand Slam" event or meeting, there will be six event categories for males and females, listed below. Each event category will feature two disciplines that competitors will compete in over the course of a weekend.
For each category, there will be eight competitors in total. Four of these will be the "Grand Slam Racers", who, at the beginning of the season, will make the starting list of each of the four Grand Slam events, for a total of 48 consistent athletes present in each slam (four racers in six categories, male and female). They are chosen based on their world rankings and merits and are among the best in the world. The other four competitors will be the "Grand Slam Challengers", who are emerging athletes and will be attempting to earn a spot as a Grand Slam Racer for the following season. The Challengers will vary between Grand Slam meetings based on recent performances and potential matchups.
From first to eighth place, points will be distributed as follows for each individual event: 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. The athlete with the best combined score between the two events in their category will be deemed the winner, or Slam champion, of that specific meeting. Should there be a tie, the lowest combined time will be utilised as a tiebreaker.
| Event Category | First Event | Second Event |
| Short Sprints | 100 m | 200 m |
| Short Hurdles | 100 m hurdles (W) 110 m hurdles (M) | 100 m flat |
| Long Sprints | 200 m | 400 m |
| Long Hurdles | 400 m hurdles | 400 m flat |
| Short Distance | 800 m | 1500 m |
| Long Distance | 3000 m | 5000 m |

## Editions

The league officially launched in June 2024, prior to a planned debut season in 2025.
| Season | Info | Slam 1 | Slam 2 | Slam 3 | Slam 4 |
| 2025 | Venue, City, Country | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica | Ansin Sports Complex, Miami, USA | Franklin Field, Philadelphia, USA | Drake Stadium, Los Angeles, USA |
| 2025 | Date | April 4–6 | May 2–4 | May 30 – June 1 | June 27–29 |

## List of athletes
### 2025 Racers

Men :
| Event category | Athlete | Signing date | Best individual WC / Oly. finish |
| Short Sprints | Kenny Bednarek (USA) | 12 Sep 2024 | 2nd (2020, 2022, 2024) |
| Short Sprints | Fred Kerley (USA) | 12 Sep 2024 | 1st (2022) |
| Short Sprints | Oblique Seville (JAM) | 10 Dec 2024 | 4th (2022, 2023) |
| Short Sprints | Zharnel Hughes (GBR) | 19 Dec 2024 | 3rd (2023) |
| Short Hurdles | Devon Allen (USA) | 22 Oct 2024 | 4th (2021) |
| Short Hurdles | Daniel Roberts (USA) | 22 Oct 2024 | 2nd (2024) |
| Short Hurdles | Sasha Zhoya (FRA) | 10 Dec 2024 | 6th (2023) |
| Short Hurdles | Freddie Crittenden (USA) | 19 Dec 2024 | 4th (2023) |
| Long Sprints | Muzala Samukonga (ZAM) | 26 Sep 2024 | 3rd (2024) |
| Long Sprints | Quincy Hall (USA) | 10 Oct 2024 | 1st (2024) |
| Long Sprints | Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) | 10 Oct 2024 | 2nd (2023, 2024) |
| Long Sprints | Jereem Richards (TRI) | 22 Oct 2024 | 4th (2024) |
| Long Hurdles | Alison Dos Santos (BRA) | 26 Sep 2024 | 1st (2022) |
| Long Hurdles | Clément Ducos (FRA) | 26 Sep 2024 | 4th (2024) |
| Long Hurdles | Roshawn Clarke (JAM) | 17 Oct 2024 | 4th (2023) |
| Long Hurdles | Caleb Dean (USA) | 19 Dec 2024 | N/A |
| Short Distance | Josh Kerr (GBR) | 27 Jun 2024 | 1st (2023) |
| Short Distance | Yared Nuguse (USA) | 4 Sep 2024 | 3rd (2024) |
| Short Distance | Cole Hocker (USA) | 4 Sep 2024 | 1st (2024) |
| Short Distance | Marco Arop (CAN) | 22 Oct 2024 | 1st (2023) |
| Long Distance | Grant Fisher (USA) | 15 Oct 2024 | 3rd (2024) |
| Long Distance | Ronald Kwemoi (KEN) | 15 Oct 2024 | 2nd (2024) |
| Long Distance | Luis Grijalva (GUA) | 22 Oct 2024 | 4th (2022, 2023) |
| Long Distance | Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH) | 10 Dec 2024 | 2nd (2013) |
| Women ||||
| Event category | Athlete | Signing date | Best individual WC / Oly. finish |
| Short Sprints | Melissa Jefferson (USA) | 19 Sep 2024 | 3rd (2024) |
| Short Sprints | Daryll Neita (GBR) | 21 Nov 2024 | 4th (2024) |
| Short Sprints | Gabby Thomas (USA) | 27 Nov 2024 | 1st (2024) |
| Short Sprints | Brittany Brown (USA) | 19 Dec 2024 | 3rd (2024) |
| Short Hurdles | Masai Russell (USA) | 25 Sep 2024 | 1st (2024) |
| Short Hurdles | Cyrena Samba-Mayela (FRA) | 25 Sep 2024 | 2nd (2024) |
| Short Hurdles | Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR) | 25 Sep 2024 | 1st (2020) |
| Short Hurdles | Ackera Nugent (JAM) | 17 Oct 2024 | 5th (2023) |
| Long Sprints | Marileidy Paulino (DOM) | 22 Oct 2024 | 1st (2024) |
| Long Sprints | Salwa Eid Naser (BHR) | 21 Nov 2024 | 1st (2019) |
| Long Sprints | Alexis Holmes (USA) | 10 Dec 2024 | 6th (2024) |
| Long Sprints | Nickisha Pryce (JAM) | 10 Dec 2024 | 14th sf (2024) |
| Long Hurdles | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) | 18 Jun 2024 | 1st (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024) |
| Long Hurdles | Jasmine Jones (USA) | 22 Oct 2024 | 4th (2024) |
| Long Hurdles | Rushell Clayton (JAM) | 22 Oct 2024 | 3rd (2019, 2023) |
| Long Hurdles | Shamier Little (USA) | 22 Oct 2024 | 2nd (2015, 2023) |
| Short Distance | Nikki Hiltz (USA) | 15 Oct 2024 | 7th (2024) |
| Short Distance | Jess Hull (AUS) | 22 Oct 2024 | 2nd (2024) |
| Short Distance | Mary Moraa (KEN) | 21 Nov 2024 | 1st (2023) |
| Short Distance | Diribe Welteji (ETH) | 19 Dec 2024 | 2nd (2023) |
| Long Distance | Agnes Ngetich (KEN) | 1 Nov 2024 | 6th (2023) |
| Long Distance | Tsigie Gebreselama (ETH) | 1 Nov 2024 | 10th (2024) |
| Long Distance | Elise Cranny (USA) | 21 Nov 2024 | 9th (2022, 2023) |
| Long Distance | Nozomi Tanaka (JPN) | 21 Nov 2024 | 8th (2021, 2023) |

### 2025 Challengers
## Slam winners
### 2025 season
#### Men

| Event Category | Slam 1 | Slam 2 | Slam 3 | Slam 4 |
| Short Sprints | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Hurdles | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Sprints | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Hurdles | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Distance | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Distance | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

#### Women

| Event Category | Slam 1 | Slam 2 | Slam 3 | Slam 4 |
| Short Sprints | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Hurdles | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Sprints | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Hurdles | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Distance | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Distance | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

## League records
### Men

| Event Category | Event | Athlete | Time | Nationality | Racer or Challenger? | Date / Season | Slam |
| Short Sprints | 100 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Sprints | 200 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Hurdles | 110 m hurdles | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Hurdles | 100 m flat | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Sprints | 200 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Sprints | 400 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Hurdles | 400 m hurdles | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Hurdles | 400 m flat | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Distance | 800 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Distance | 1500 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Distance | 3000 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Distance | 5000 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

### Women

| Event Category | Event | Athlete | Time | Nationality | Racer or Challenger? | Date / Season | Slam |
| Short Sprints | 100 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Sprints | 200 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Hurdles | 100 m hurdles | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Hurdles | 100 m flat | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Sprints | 200 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Sprints | 400 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Hurdles | 400 m hurdles | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Hurdles | 400 m flat | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Distance | 800 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Short Distance | 1500 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Distance | 3000 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Long Distance | 5000 m | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

## Prize money

The Grand Slam Track league offers a chance for athletes, should they win each of the four Slams in their event category, to win upwards of US$400,000.00 in a single season.
| Place | Prize money per slam |
| 1st | $100,000.00 |
| 2nd | $50,000.00 |
| 3rd | $30,000.00 |
| 4th | $25,000.00 |
| 5th | $20,000.00 |
| 6th | $15,000.00 |
| 7th | $12,500.00 |
| 8th | $10,000.00 |

## Broadcast

In February 2025, Grand Slam Track announced agreements with The CW, an over-the-air network, and the streaming service Peacock in the United States. All events will stream on Peacock while The CW will air weekend coverage. NBC, whose parent company owns Peacock, will also air a highlight special.