2 months ago
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With an overhaul in the schedule of events, nine Jamaican athletes will take to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania for this season’s third staging of Grand Slam Track (GST), set to be hosted in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Grand Slam will see a departure from the three-day schedule used at the Kingston and Miami slams as organisers had announced they will be changing to two days of competition.
Rather than its usual Friday start, the Philadelphia Grand Slams will begin on Saturday with 11 events, before ending on Sunday with the remaining 11 events.
GST founder Michael Johnson said the changes to the schedule were made after feedback from various stakeholders in an attempt to improve the meet’s experience
“We’ve said all along we want to listen to our fans, athletes, and coaches, and having heard feedback from various key stakeholders, we’ve made the decision to condense our schedule in Philadelphia into two, high-octane, and intense days of combat racing,” he explained.
“We want to be the most flexible, adaptive, and fan-first league in sports, and we believe making these changes will improve the Grand Slam Track experience for all.”
Headlining the list of Jamaican competitors will be the pair of Ackera Nugent and Danielle Williams in the women’s short hurdles race group.
Nugent and Williams both stand as the only Jamaicans to have claimed a Grand Slam title, with Williams taking the Kingston short sprints title, and Nugent following up with the Miami short sprints title.
Joining the two in the race group will also be 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper.
Tapper returns to the field as a GST challenger after her third-place at the Miami Grand Slam.
The trio will, however, face a novel opposition as USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is slated to compete in the race group, stepping down from the women’s long hurdles group.
McLaughlin-Levrone is currently unbeaten across the two GST meets and will put that record to the test when she lines up in the shorter and more explosive events.
The 400-metre hurdles world record holder currently holds a personal best of 12.65 seconds in the 100m hurdles, set in 2021.
Her only appearance in the flat 100m came in 2018 as a collegiate athlete, where she ran a wind-aided 11.07.
In the women’s long hurdles group, Jamaica will be represented by national champion Rushell Clayton and Andrenette Knight.
Clayton’s participation marks her return to the GST circuit since her appearance at the Kingston slam where she had pulled up injured.
INJURIES
Bryan Levell will be Jamaica’s only representative in the men’s short sprints following the withdrawal of Oblique Seville, one of the competition’s designated racers, due to injury.
It is a similar story in the men’s long hurdles group as Roshawn Clarke will noticeably absent due to injuries, leaving Assinie Wilson as the only Jamaican in the field.
Clarke pulled up injured in the 400m hurdles at the Miami Grand Slam, and despite reports of returning to training this week, will not be available for this weekend’s staging.
Nickisha Pryce will line up in the women’s long sprints race group as she is set to contest yet another strong field of athletes.
Pryce has finished eighth and fifth across the last two slams respective and will be hopefully she can continue her rise up the rankings at the Philadelphia Grand Slam.
The final Jamaican set to compete over the weekend will be Jevaughn Powell as he has been added as a challenger in the men’s long sprints.
This will be his debut in the GST series and will be hopeful of a strong showing at Franklin Field.
Day one of the competition is set to begin at 3:39 p.m. Jamaica time with day two action scheduled to begin at 2:42 p.m. Jamaica time.
Schedule (Jamaica time)
Saturday:
Women’s 400m hurdles (3:39pm) - Long Hurdles
Men’s 400m hurdles (3:48 pm) - Long Hurdles
Men’s 800m (3:57 pm) - Short Distance
Men’s 200m (4:07 pm) - Short Sprints
Women’s 200m (4:16 pm) - Short Sprints
Women’s 3000m (4:25 pm) - Long Distance
Women’s 400m (4:42 pm) - Long Sprints
Men’s 400m (4:51pm) - Long Sprints
Women’s 1500m (5:00 pm) - Short Distance
Men’s 110m hurdles (5:13 pm) - Short Hurdles
Women’s 100m hurdles (5:22 pm) - Short Hurdles
Schedule (Jamaica time)
Sunday:
Men’s 400m (2:41 pm) - Long Hurdles
Women’s 400m (2:50 pm) - Long Hurdles
Women’s 800m (2:59 pm) - Short Distance
Men’s 100m (3:09 pm) - Short Hurdles
Women’s 100m (3:18 pm) - Short Hurdles
Men’s 3000m (3:27 pm) - Long Distance
Women’s 200m (3:43 pm) - Long Sprints
Men’s 200m (3:52 pm) - Long Sprints
Men’s 1500m (4:01 pm) - Short Distance
Women’s 100m (4:13 pm) - Short Sprints
Men’s 100m (4:22 pm) - Shorts Sprints
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