by RBR Admin
Grand Slam Track will announce all four of its 2025 sites this week. GST will also announce its first meet in Kingston, Jamaica, a haven of global track and field! Well done, Grand Slam Track!
GRAND SLAM TRACK™ Announces Kingston, Jamaica as Host City of Inaugural 2025 Slam Event
Kingston, Jamaica, joins Los Angeles as the announced Host City for the 2025 Grand Slam Track™ season. Two more cities will be announced later this week. The inaugural Slam event will be held at the National Stadium at Independence Park in April.
Kingston, Jamaica (November 11, 2024) – Grand Slam Track™, the new global home of professional track competition, launched earlier this year by four-time US Olympic Champion Michael Johnson, today officially announced that Kingston, Jamaica, will be the host city for the inaugural Slam event when Grand Slam Track™ begins competition in 2025. 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 will 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.”
Known for producing some of the world’s greatest track athletes, Jamaica’s capital city will provide the perfect backdrop for Grand Slam Track™’s high-stakes competition. The Kingston Slam will be held at the National Stadium at Independence Park on April 4th, 5th, and 6th, 2025, where the fastest Racers in the world will come together for this historic event. Tickets will be sold on Friday, December 6th, at 10am local time in Jamaica. For more information, please visit https://grandslamtrack.com/
“Being chosen as a host city for Grand Slam Track™ is a big moment for Kingston and 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™.”
“We are proud and excited that Kingston has been selected to host the inaugural Grand Slam Track™ event,” said Garth Gayle, President of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA). “As the local governing body for the sport, we see this as a testament to our past and present athletes, whose achievements and legacy have established Jamaica as the track capital of the world. This event also marks an important milestone for the development of our future athletes, who will benefit from the opportunity to see the world’s greatest track stars up close and personal on a local calendar.”
Each year, 48 athletes will be named as Grand Slam Track™ Racers. The roster of Racers already announced features stars from across the world of track: Ackera Nugent, Roshawn Clarke, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Melissa Jefferson, Masai Russell, Quincy Hall, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, Grant Fisher, Josh Kerr, Matthew Hudson-Smith,, Nikki Hiltz, Cyrena Samba-Mayela, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Alison Dos Santos, Ronald Kwemoi, Muzala Samukonga, Clement Ducos, Marileidy Paulino, Jess Hull, Daniel Roberts, Shamier Little, Marco Arop, Devon Allen, Jasmine Jones, Jereem Richards, Luis Grijalva, Rushell Clayton, Agnes Ngetich, & Tsigie Gebreselama. Fans can now be sure they will see all the superstars listed above in action in Kingston next April.
These racers are selected by the Grand Slam Track™ Racing Committee based on a combination of factors to include the fastest and best racers in each race group, with a focus on fierce rivalries and thrilling competitive racing. GST Racers 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 total prize money. These GST Racers will receive annual contracts, access to the GST content and data services team, inclusion in the league collective, group licensing, new revenue opportunities, and world-class athlete support services throughout the season. GST racers are compensated under contract to race, promote the league, and receive additional marketing and branding support.
The remaining 48 racers will be known as GST Challengers and will be paid a set appearance fee to compete at individual Slams. GST Challengers are also chosen by the Grand Slam Track™ Racing Committee based on a combination of recent performances and the most intriguing athletes and matchups.
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). The combined finishing order between the two races will determine all competitors’ final placement scores. In the event of a tie across the two events, the athlete who had the quickest combined time across the two races 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 $12.6m of prize money awarded across the slams each year in addition to the base compensation and appearance fees paid to racers.
The focus of Grand Slam Track™ is on head-to-head competition, not winning times. There will be no rabbits or pacing lights. Each Slam is equally important as any other, has its own prize purse, and is independently scored. Points and previous finishes do not carry over to the following Slams. All racers will compete twice over the three-day event, and all Slam events will meet World Athletics regulations. Achieved marks are eligible for rankings and standards.
Racers will compete in sponsored kits without traditional hip numbers or bibs. Racers and Challengers are encouraged to work with their sponsors to create customized kits in their desired style. Grand Slam Track™ has no affiliation or sponsorship agreement with any shoe company, but all shoe companies are considered important stakeholders and partners in promoting our racers.
Grand Slam Track™ has secured more than $30 million in financial commitments from investors and strategic partners for the league launch. Winners Alliance, a global, athlete-centric commercial solution and Johnson’s operating partner, was the lead investor in the first fundraising close for the new venture. The investment in the league will aid in Johnson’s ultimate goal: to develop better engagement with fans by promoting track and field’s biggest stars and reaching new audiences with unique, innovative storytelling.
For further information, please follow @GrandSlamTrack on all social media platforms and visit grandslamtrack.com.
About Michael Johnson
Born in Dallas, Texas, Michael Johnson is a Hall of Fame track and field star, universally recognized as one of the greatest sprinters ever. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships and held world and Olympic records in the 200m and 400m races. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Johnson became the first and only male athlete to win the Gold medal in the 200m and 400m at the same Olympics. Since retiring from active competition, Johnson has become a serial entrepreneur, investor, highly sought-after performance mindset speaker, and an award-winning television commentator. Johnson has been a pundit for the BBC’s coverage of every Olympic Games since Athens 2004 and remains a key voice on and advocate for the sport. Johnson was inducted into the United States Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004.
