★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ HEAVY WEEKEND AHEAD ≡
The new Grand Slam Track circuit of four meets in the spring was arranged to mostly avoid the Diamond League calendar in 2025, but this is the one weekend with both will be going, with the second Slam in Miramar, Florida and the second Diamond League stop in Shanghai, China.
Both meets have quite a lot going for them, with the Grand Slam over three days, with seven world leaders competing, including four challengers brought in for this weekend:
Racers:
● Men/400 m hurdles: 47.61, Alison dos Santos (BRA)
● Women/400 m: 48.67, Salwa Eid Naser (BRN)
● Women/800 m: 1:58.23, Nikki Hiltz (USA)
● Women/400 m hurdles: 52.76, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA)
Challengers:
● Men/400 m: 44.15, Chris Robinson (USA)
● Men/800 m: 1:43.79, Peter Bol (AUS)
● Men/3,000 m: 7:45.14, Tshepo Tshite (RSA)
● Women/100 m hurdles: 12.49, Tia Jones (USA)
Robinson will be running in the long hurdles group, in his better-known 400 m hurdles event and then the 400 m; he said, “The Grand Slam, when I saw it, I was like ‘This is literally made for me.’ I think I’m one of the best people who can do both events [400H/400] and I thought it could give me the opportunity to train and show that.”
Tshite will be in the short distances, running the 800 m and 1,500 m.
In the men’s six event groups, five Kingston winners will be back: Kenny Bednarek (USA/short sprints), Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR/long sprints), Grant Fisher (USA/long distances), Sasha Zhoya (FRA/short hurdles) and Alison dos Santos (BRA/long hurdles).
Four of the women’s group winners return: Gabby Thomas (USA/long sprints), Salwa Eid Naser (BRN/long sprints), Diribe Welteji (ETH/short distances) and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA/long hurdles). Thomas will be moving down to the short sprints for this week’s Slam.
Scoring in each event group (two races) is 12-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 and the placers in each group will win $100,000-50,000-30,000-25,000-20,000-15,000-12,500-10,000.
The meet runs three days, with events from 5-8 p.m. Eastern time on Friday (shown on Peacock only) and 5-8 p.m. on Saturday (The CW and Peacock) and earlier on Sunday, 3-6 p.m., also on The CW and Peacock.
The Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, about 22 miles north of Miami, seats about 5,000 and the three-day ticket packages for the finish line (one section) and grand stand (two sections) are shown as sold out; single-day tickets in all categories (all 14 sections) are shown as available. Clouds are expected on Friday and Saturday and possible drizzles on Sunday.
¶
In Shanghai, the one-day line-up includes field events – which Grand Slam Track does not – and has six outdoor world leaders expected to compete:
● Men/100 m: 9.90, Akani Simbine (RSA)
● Men/3,000 m Steeple: 8:05.61, Samuel Firewu (ETH)
● Men/110 m hurdles: 13.06, Cordell Tinch (USA)
● Men/Pole Vault: 5.92 m (19-5), Mondo Duplantis (SWE)
● Women/High Jump: 2.01 m (6-7), Nicola Olyslagers (AUS)
● Women/Shot Put: 20.47 m (67-2), Jessica Schilder (NED)
Danielle Williams (JAM), a two-time World Champion in the women’s 100 m hurdles and the Slam winner as a Challenger in the women’s short hurdles, will line up in Shanghai in the 100 m hurdles race.
Norway’s men’s 400 m hurdles world-record holder Karsten Warholm, who set a world best for the 300 m hurdles in Xiamen last week, is in the field for the 400 m hurdles. World Indoor 400 m champ Chris Bailey and Olympic champ Quincy Hall of the U.S. are in the 400 m field; Hall left Grand Slam Track and was replaced by Tokyo Olympic champ Steven Gardiner.
The men’s 100 m has 2019 World Champion Christian Coleman of the U.S., fourth last week in Xiamen, Paris 200 m gold medalist Letsile Tebogo (BOT), seventh last week, and Paris 100 m silver medalist Kishane Thompson (JAM) in his season opener, all challenging world leader Simbine.
This should be an interesting meet: it’s still early in the season, but the main players who are not part of Grand Slam Track are starting to get going.
¶
Excellent reporting from Jonathan Gault of LetsRun.com, speaking with agent John Regis (GBR), who explained that Hall withdrew from Grand Slam Track as the long-sprint format of running the 400 m and 200 m over three days didn’t work well for him.
The format has also been an issue for hurdles stars Grant Holloway and Rai Benjamin, both of whom have passed on Grand Slam Track, for this year anyway.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 694-event International Sports Calendar for 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
