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≡ GRAND SLAM TRACK II ≡
A very good second stanza of the new Grand Slam Track project that concluded in Miramar, Florida, with two more world-leading performances:
● Men/200 m: 19.84, Kenny Bednarek (USA)
● Women/3,000 m: 8:22.72, Hirut Meshesha (ETH)
Conditions were generally good at 80 F, but with some cloud cover and high humidity at 68%, and the crowd was loud. In a 5,000-seat facility, attendance was a little more spotty on the home straight than on Saturday and better on the backstraight, perhaps 3,500 or so after about 4,000 on Saturday.
The competition was good once again, with some surprises:
● Women/800 m (short distances):
American Nikki Hiltz won in Kingston with a then-world-leading 1:58.23, but 2024 World Indoor 1,500 m champ Freweyni Hailu won the 1,500 m on Saturday and Diribe Welteji (ETH) was third and won the Kingston Slam.
World Champion Mary Moraa (KEN) went to the lead, but wasn’t pressing the pace. Moraa took the bell, and led into the turn, but with Hailu coming up on the turn. Into the straight, Moraa and Hailu were side-by-side, but Moraa wanted the win and got to the line first in a seasonal best of 1:59.51.
Hiltz made another finishing charge from fourth and got second past Hailu, 1:59.85 to 1:59.84 and Welteji fourth (1:59.94).
Hailu took the Slam with 18 points, with Hiltz at 16 and Moraa at 13; Welteji was fourth with 11.
● Men/100 m (short hurdles):
Trey Cunningham won the 110 hurdles race at 13.00, no. 2 in the world for 2025, and was looking to improve on his 10.27 lifetime best in the 100 m from last year. France’s Sasha Zhoya stole the Slam in Kingston with a 10.55 100, but into a 2.0 m/s headwind.
Cunningham was off well in lane three, but Olympic hurdles silver winner Daniel Roberts and Zhoya were off best by 10 m. But Cunningham took the lead by 25 m and it was Jamal Britt in lane one who was the primary challenger. Cunningham broke the tape in a personal best 10.17 (+0.7 m/s wind), followed closely by Britt, who equaled his lifetime best at 10.20. Zhoya and Roberts were 3-4, both with lifetime bests of 10.36 and 10.40.
Cunningham swept the Slam with 24 points, with Zhoya second at 14, followed by Britt (13); Crittenden and Roberts were 4-5 with eight each.
● Women/3,000 m (long distances):
Agnes Ngetich (KEN) and Medina Eisa (ETH) had a memorable battle on Friday in the 5,000 m with world-leading times of 14:25.80 and 14:25.92, and Ngetich was second in the Kingston Slam. What would they have left?
Kenyan Janeth Chepngetich took it out at 62.98, with Ngetich taking over by 600 m, followed by Eisa. The pace was strong with six in contention by 1,500 m, down to four by 2,000 m (6:27.79), with Ngetich continuing to push, with Eisa still her shadow.
At the bell, it was still four, with Ngetich, Eisa, two-time 10,000 m Olympian Tsige Gebreselama (ETH) and 2022 World Indoor 1,500 m bronzer Hirut Meshesha (ETH). On the backstraight, Gebreselama attacked first but fell back, Meshesha took the lead into the turn, with Ngetich trying to keep up.
Into the straight, Meshesha and Eisa were 1-2 with Ngetich in a full sprint but Meshesha had the best speed to the line and won in a lifetime best of 8:22.72, with Eisa at 8:23.08 and Ngetich at 8:23.14, all lifetime bests and 1-2-3 on the 2025 world outdoor list. Gebreselama got a seasonal best at 8:24.47, no. 4 in the world this season.
It came down to combined times, but Ngetich won the Slam with 18 points, with Meshesha second (also 18) and Eisa third with 16.
● Men/400 m (long hurdles):
Brazil’s 2022 World 400 m hurdles champ Alison dos Santos won the Kingston Slam and took the hurdles over former NCAA champ Chris Robinson by 0.95, and with Robinson having run a then-world-leading 44.15, dos Santos had to stay close.
But dos Santos in lane five could see Robinson ahead of him in seven, and tracked him down the back straight. Robinson could not get away and dos Santos was the leader into the final straight and pulled away to win in a lifetime best of 44.53!
Robinson was a solid second in 44.86, NCAA champion Caleb Dean was third in 45.18 and then American Trevor Bassitt in 45.31.
Dos Santos won the Slam, as in Kingston, with 24, ahead of Robinson (16) and then Dean (10), with a better combined time than Malik James-King (JAM: 8).
● Women/200 m (long sprints):
Olympic champ Marileidy Paulino (DOM) and 2019 World Champion Salwa Eid Naser (BRN) were 1-2 in the 400 m and looked to be the favorites.
This wasn’t close, as Paulino started slowly out of the blocks, but she was much better than everyone else and stormed into the straight in the lead and won easily in 22.30, a national record and no. 6 in the world for 2025 (wind: +1.0 m/s).
Naser and American Alexis Holmes dueled for second down the straight and Holmes faded, and Naser finished in a solid 22.53. American Bella Whittaker was third in 22.76; Holmes was fifth in 22.83, a lifetime best.
Paulino won the Slam with 24, with Naser second at 16, then Whittaker (11) and Holmes fourth (10).
● Men/5,000 m (long distances):
Double Olympic bronze winner Grant Fisher of the U.S. won the Kingston Slam (barely) and was second in the 3,000 m, so he was the man to watch, but would the race devolve into another jog-and-kick affair?
Dawit Seare (ERI) was in front early, but the pace was slow, with Cooper Teare of the U.S. taking over by the 800 m mark, and George Mills (GBR) by 1,400 m. Fisher was steady in third or fourth, waiting. The 2,000 m mark was passed in 5:51.72 for Mills, with Sam Atkin (GBR) just behind, still slow.
Atkin took a turn in the lead and passed 3,000 m in 8:36.38. Mills took back the lead but Fisher got in front by 3,500 m and started to surge. With three laps to go, he moved away and ran a 58.6 lap to break up the race. He passed 4,200 m with an enormous lead (59.6 lap) and took the bell with a 50 m edge (5 1/2 seconds, off a 60.3 lap).
Fisher cruised home to win, waving to the crowd in 13:40.32, finishing his final four laps (1,600 m) in 3:57.57!
Behind him, there was a fight for second down the final straight with Teare winning the sprint (13:46.25) ahead of 3,000 m winner Andrew Coscoran (IRL: 13:46.30) and Ronald Kwemoi (KEN: 13:46.35).
Fisher took his second straight Slam with 20 points, Coscoran was second with 18, then Teare (13) and Mills and Kwemoi (8 each for fourth and fifth).
● Women/400 m (long hurdles):
No doubt about the favorite with U.S. star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the race, winner of the first Slam and who took the 400 m hurdles in a world-leading 52.07. She started in lane five, with fellow American Shamier Little just outside of her, a 49.68 performer at her best from 2023.
McLaughlin-Levrone moved well, as did Little, on the backstraight. McLaughlin-Levrone came on around the turn and was in front by 5 m and ran away to win in 49.69, now no. 5 in the world for 2025 and her sixth-fastest ever.
Behind her, it was a three-way battle in lanes 6-7-8 with Little, Andrenette Knight (JAM) and U.S. heptathlete Anna Hall, and Hall got to the line in 51.68, then Knight in 51.80 and Little in 51.84.
McLaughlin-Levrone won the Slam with 24 points, ahead of Knight (14) and Hall (14), with Knight getting second on combined time. Hall ran her two races out of lanes one (400H) and eight (400)!
● Men/200 m (short sprints):
“Kung Fu Kenny” Bednarek won her first three Grand Slam Track races and was the overwhelming favorite in this race given his two Olympic 200 m silvers. He started in lane six, with Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ Andre De Grasse (CAN) right ahead of him.
It wasn’t close. Bednarek pulled up on De Grasse by the middle of the turn, had a 2 m lead onto the straight and stormed home in a world-leading 19.84 (+0.2). He looked very relaxed and there is a lot more to come from him.
The race for second was between Britain’s Zharnel Hughes in lane eight and Oblique Seville (JAM) in six, with Hughes getting second as both were timed in 20.13. De Grasse was fourth in 20.23.
Bednarek had 24 points to win the Slam, with Seville second (14), Hughes third (13) and Brandon Hicklin of the U.S. was fourth overall (8) as the late replacement for Fred Kerley, earning $25,000 for the weekend!
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Scoring in each event group (two races) was 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.
Repeaters from Kingston included Bednarek (short sprints), dos Santos (long hurdles) and Fisher (long distances) for the men; Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (short sprints) and McLaughlin-Levrone (long hurdles) doubled for the women.
Next up is the third Grand Slam Track weekend, at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia, on 30-31 May and 1 June.
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