Known for producing some of the world's greatest track athletes, the National Stadium at Independence Park in Kingston, will host the Inaugural Slam event when Grand Slam Track begins competition in 2025.
Set to take place on the dates April 4th, 5th, and 6th, 2025, some of the fastest Racers in the world will be coming together for this historic occasion.
Kingston joins Los Angeles as the second city confirmed as a Slam host for the upcoming season, with two more locations to be announced later this week.
“We are thrilled to be bringing Grand Slam Track™ to Kingston,” said Michael Johnson, the league’s founder and Commissioner. “Jamaica has such a strong history in this sport. The talent and the love for the sport here make it a perfect fit for what we’re building. It’s going to be an incredible event, and we’re proud to have Kingston as one of our four Slams in our inaugural season to kick this whole thing off.”
"Being chosen as a host city for Grand Slam Track is a big moment for Kingston and for Jamaica as a country," said Hon. Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sports. "This is a chance for us to be part of something huge, bringing top athletes to our track and helping the sport grow in a new and exciting way. Fans will get to experience the sport they love up close, and it’ll be something special for everyone watching, both here and around the world. We look forward to welcoming Track fans from across the globe to Jamaica in April for Grand Slam Track".
Each year, 48 athletes will be named as Grand Slam Track Racers.
The GST Racers are selected by the Grand Slam Track Racing Committee and will 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.
The remaining 48 racers will be known as GST Challengers and will be paid a set appearance fee to compete at individual Slams.
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 $12.6 million of prize money that will be awarded across the the slams each year in addition to the base compensation and appearance fees paid to racers.
National 100m hurdles record holder Ackera Nugent, two-time World Championships 400m hurdles bronze medalist Rushell Clayton and Olympic finalist Roshawn Clarke are the Jamaican athletes confirmed thus far to take part in the inaugural season.
Other marquee names include Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Masai Russell, Kenny Bednarek, Cyrena Samba-Mayela, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Marileidy Paulino, Alison Dos Santos, Agnes Ngetich, Devon Allen and Fred Kerley.
Comments