WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT of its four host cities for Year 1, Grand Slam Track has readied itself for what will undoubtedly be a new experience in marketing the sport of track & field. The host lineup and schedule, as it stands as of mid-November:
April 04–06: National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica
May 02–04: Ansin Sports Complex, Miramar, Florida
May 30–June 01: Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 27–29: Drake Stadium, Westwood, California
Said founder Michael Johnson of the final meet announcement: “As a global sports capital, LA provides the perfect stage to showcase the cream of the crop from around the world. We’re eager to bring the event to this iconic city and can’t wait to give fans an unforgettable experience.”
Johnson’s original plans called for only two of the events to be held in the United States. However, overtures to hold one of the meets in either London Stadium or Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium fell flat when UK Athletics turned down the opportunity, citing financial risk.
“We’re positive about Michael Johnson’s format,” said UK Athletics chief Jack Buckner. “But 3 days of just track athletics is a lot of tickets to sell in the London Stadium and the cost base comes pretty high there. They did approach us and we had a really good discussion with them. We would like to have a bigger, more comprehensive events portfolio, but we want that built on strong foundations that are sustainable.”
Instead, the British federation is looking at a possible bid for the ’29 Worlds, along with a focus on making the London DL meet profitable.
In the meantime, the GST organization has been announcing a steady stream of athlete signings, which all started with its initial ambassador, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Already, 38 have been announced of the 48 GST “Racers,” who will race in two events at each Grand Slam. They will receive a base salary in addition to being eligible for prize money:
Men — Devon Allen, Marco Arop, Kenny Bednarek, Roshawn Clarke, Alison dos Santos, Clément Ducos, Grant Fisher, Luis Grijalva, Quincy Hall, Cole Hocker, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Fred Kerley, Josh Kerr, Ronald Kwemoi, Yared Nuguse, Jereem Richards, Daniel Roberts, Muzala Samukonga.
Women — Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Rushell Clayton, Elise Cranny, Tsigie Gebreselama, Nikki Hiltz, Jess Hull, Melissa Jefferson, Jasmine Jones, Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Mary Moraa, Salwa Eid Naser, Agnes Ngetich, Daryll Neita, Ackera Nugent, Marileidy Paulino, Masai Russell, Cyréna Samba-Mayela, Nozomi Tanaka, Gabby Thomas.
Another 48 (none announced yet) will be designated as GST “Challengers” and will be paid an appearance fee for the meets in which they compete.
There will be six categories of races for both men and women: short sprints (100/200), short hurdles (100H or 110H plus 100), long sprints (200/400), long hurdles (400H plus 400), middle distance (800/1500) and long distance (3000/5000). The racers are committed to doing all four meets, and two events in each. There will be no teams, per se. Athletes will compete in the uniforms of their usual sponsors. Additionally, all marks will be eligible for World Athletics qualification and rankings purposes.
Tickets for all four Slams will go on sale on Friday, December 06, at 1pm Eastern/10am Pacific.
For further information, the organizers advise, please follow @GrandSlamTrack on all social media platforms, and visit grandslamtrack.com.