World-Class Week in Review: Swedes shine in Stockholm
Duplantis sets world record, Almgren lowers European best in BAUHAUS-Galan meet
It was quite a day for a pair of Swedish athletes at the BAUHAUS-Galan Diamond League meet in Stockholm on Sunday.
First, 25-year-old Mondo Duplantis cleared a world record of 6.28 meters (20 feet 7¼ inches) in the men’s pole vault.
Then, roughly 10 minutes later, 30-year-old Andreas Almgren won the men’s 5,000 meters in a European record of 12:44.27.
While Duplantis entered the meet as the two-time defending Olympic and World outdoor champion, as well as an athlete who had previously raised the world record in the pole vault 11 times, Almgren was a journeyman runner who had set national records in the 5,000 and 10,000 in the spring of last year before missing the Olympic Games in Paris due to a stress fracture.
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Duplantis, who had won 27 consecutive competitions entering the meet, cleared 5.60 (18-4½) on his first attempt on Sunday before passing at 5.70 (18-8¼).
He then cleared 5.80 (19-0¼), 5.90 (19-4¼), and 6.00 (20-7¼) on his initial try and clinched the victory when Kurtis Marschall of Australia missed all three of his attempts at 6.00 after he had made 5.90 on his second try.
The bar was then raised to 6.28 (20-7½), and not too long after the 5,000 had started, Duplantis charged down the runway and launched himself skyward. He brushed the bar ever so slightly with the right side of his chest as he was going over it, but when it stayed up, he bounded off the mat, and ran to the stands to embrace and kiss his fiancee, Desiré Inglander, before hugging his mom and several other family members and friends who were in attendance.
“I feel full to the brim right now,” Duplantis said in a World Athletics post. “I’ve got a lot of family here. The first time I jumped in this stadium when I was 11 years old, it was rainy and cold, and I jumped right under four metres – it was quite high for how young I was.
“I'm just going to enjoy this, enjoy the moment right now. There’s not much between me and 6.30, technically. I'm just a perfect day away from it.”
Duplantis’ record effort topped his previous world record of 6.27 (20-6¾) that he had set in the All Star Perche indoor meet in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on Feb. 28 and it occurred four days after he had cleared 6.15 (20-2) on his second attempt in the Bislett Games in Oslo.
Although he was not super sharp — by his standards — during that competition, he had made 6.15 with room to spare before he called it a day.
Almgren, who had focused on the 800 and 1,500 during much of his career, had lowered the Swedish record to 13:01.70 in the 5,000 in 2022. But he was eliminated in his qualifying heat of the 5,000 in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
However, he ran a Swedish record of 26:52.87 in the 10,000 to finish third in The TEN meet in San Juan Capistrano, California, in March of last year and then lowered the national record in the 5,000 twice in May, with the second lowering occurring when he ran ran 12:50.94 to finish eighth in the Bislett Games.
Although the previously mentioned stress fracture prevented him from competing in the Olympics, he came back to place fifth in the European Athletics Cross Country Championships in December before setting a European record of 26:53 for 10 kilometers on the road when he won the Valencia Ibercaja 10k in Valencia, Spain, in January.
He then won the 3,000 in the Swedish Indoor Championships in February and placed fourth in that event in the European Athletics Indoor Championships in March before he ran 13:05 to win a 5k road race in Drammen, Norway, on April 5.
He did not race again until Sunday, but he was focused on breaking the European record of 12:45.01 — set by Mohamed Katir of Spain in 2023 — as he toed the starting line.
He was in fifth place when pacesetter Adam Czerwinski led the field through the first kilometer in 2:33.17 and he was in fourth when No. 2 pacemaker Filip Sarinek clocked 5:07.43 at 2,000 meters.
He had moved into the lead by 2,800 meters and only Eduardo Herrera of Mexico and 19-year-old Kuma Girma of Ethiopia were within a second of him when he came through three kilometers in 7:42.93.
It was a two-man race for first between Almgren and Girma when the Swede clocked 10:16.16 at 4,000 meters. But the Ethiopian began to fall back with 700 meters left. He was a second and half behind Almgren with 600 meters to go and his deficit had grown to five seconds with a lap left in the race.
Running smooth and under control, and with a look of intense focus on his face, Almgren had widened his lead even further as he headed into the final curve and he picked up the pace entering the home straightaway by really going to his arms to quicken his turnover.
With the crowd urging him on, he crossed the finish line in 12:44.27 to better Katir’s continental record and move to 12th on the all-time performer list.
Girma finished second in 12:57.46 and Ky Robinson of Australia placed third in a personal best of 12:58.38 to move to third on the all-time Australian performer list.
“This is probably the most memorable night of my life and career so far,” Almgren said after running the last lap in 58.07 seconds and the final 800 in 1:57.97. “I wanted to give the spectators from my home city something to remember. When the pacemaker dropped off and Girma was unable to hold the pace, I decided to go for it – nobody remembers a coward.”
Bouncing back: Karsten Warholm of Norway had set a world best of 32.67 seconds in winning the 300-meter intermediate hurdles ahead of Rai Benjamin of the U.S. and Alison dos Santos of Brazil in the Bislett Games in Oslo last Thursday. But Benjamin won the 400 intermediate hurdles in the BAUHAUS-Galan meet with a 46.54 clocking that left him ahead of Dos Santos at 46.68 and Warholm at 47.41.
Benjamin’s time was the fastest in the world this year and the 10th-fastest ever and it marked an unprecedented sixth consecutive final in which the Olympic champion has run under 47 seconds.
Warholm, who set the world record of 45.94 in winning the Olympic final in Tokyo in 2021, was in first place for the first eight flights of hurdles on Sunday. But Benjamin had edged ahead of him by the ninth set of barriers and dos Santos had passed him by the final hurdle.
After finishing a disappointing third — in 47.56 — behind Warholm and Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands in the 2023 World championships, the 27-year-old Benjamin has clocked 46.39, 46.64, 46.46, 46.67, 46.46, and 46.54 during his current six-race winning streak. He has beaten Warholm four times during that span.
“It’s my season opener. Just wanted to see where I was at,” Benjamin said in an si.com post. “I opened today faster than I did the Olympic year. I think all signs are good. The race was pretty good, the crowd was engaging, I just wanted to be a little more patient than I was in Oslo. I wanted to run a smart race today and execute my game plan.
“It’s major. It’s fun. Everyone loves it. Karsten got the win at home. I got the win here. I’m really happy about the repairs from this meet.”
Two for two: Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya won the men’s 800 meters in a yearly world-leading time of 1:41.95 in the BAUHAUS-GALAN meet in Stockholm after placing first in the Bislett Games in Oslo in 1:42.78.
A fast-closing Mohamed Attaoui of Spain had run 1:42.90 while finishing second to Wanyonyi in Oslo, but the 20-year-old Kenyan had a larger margin of victory in Stockholm as his 1:41.95 clocking left him clear of Djamel Sedjati of Algeria, who finished second in 1:42.27.
Olympic champion Wanyonyi had been in second place when pacesetter Patryk Sieradzki had led the field through 400 meters in 49.75 seconds. But he had moved into the lead after Sieradzki dropped out and World indoor champion Josh Hoey of the U.S. and Gabriel Tual of France were his closest pursuers as he entered the final turn.
Wanyoni maintained his lead around the last curve before he began to pull away from Hoey entering the home straightaway and Tual started to fall back. Olympic bronze medalist Sedjati made a big rush in the final 50 meters of the race to overtake Hoey, but he never seriously challenged Wanyonyi.
Hoey’s third-place time of 1:42.43 moved him to third on the all-time U.S. performer list, with Tual finishing fourth in 1:42.72 and Slimane Moula placing fifth in 1:42.77 to become the third-fastest Algerian ever.
Wanyonyi had now run under 1:42 five times during his career.
Kenyan David Rudisha, who set the world record of 1:40.91 in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, ran under 1:42 a record seven times.
Two for two II: Isabella Whittaker of the U.S. was another athlete who was victorious in both the Bislett Games and the BAUHAUS-Galan meet as she won the 400 meters in 49.58 seconds in Oslo and in 49.78 in Stockholm.
Henriette Jaeger of Norway and Amber Anning of Great Britain finished second and third, respectively, in both races.
Jaeger came very close to beating Whittaker before an appreciative home crowd in Oslo, but the 23-year-old American overtook her in the final 10 meters of the race in which Jaeger set a national record of 49.62 and Anning finished third in 50.24.
Whittaker was in fifth place through the first 250 meters of the race in Stockholm, but she had moved up to second behind Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands after 300 meters and she began to draw away from everyone with about 70 meters left in the contest in which Jaeger ran 50.07, Anning clocked 50.17, and Klaver timed 50.35.
Whittaker had run the equal second-fastest indoor time in history when she won the NCAA title in 49.24 for the University of Arkansas in March. And she then decided to turn professional because she was out of collegiate eligibility when it came to outdoor track and she was going to complete her graduate schooling in May.
After running 50.38 to finish fourth and 50.16 place third in the second and third Grand Slam Track meets of the season, she was delighted to have won her first-ever Diamond League race in her first-ever international meet in Oslo.
“I was hoping for a fight like that and I had a good feeling I was going to race well tonight, I enjoyed digging deep,” Whittaker said in quotes on the meet website. “It is my first time here in Oslo and this is actually my first ever international meeting so it was very exciting and I love it here, it is a great atmosphere.”
Two for two III: Julien Alfred of St. Lucia improved her outdoor record to 5-0 this season when she won the women’s 100 meters in 10.89 seconds in the Bislett Games last Thursday and in 10.75 in the BAUHUAS-Galan meet on Sunday.
The reigning Olympic champion’s victory in Stockholm was particularly impressive as she got off to a good start and had a clear lead over second-place Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain at the midway point of the race before finishing nearly two tenths of a second in front of her.
Alfred’s 10.75 clocking was only three hundredths of a second off her national record of 10.72 that she had run in the Olympic final, despite the fact that she eased up during her last three strides of the race and did not lean at the finish line.
Asher-Smith ran 10.93, followed by Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith of Cote d’Ivoire in 11.00.
The 24-year-old Alfred had opened her season by winning the 300 meters in 36.05 in the Miramar Invitational in Miramar, Florida, on April 5 before clocking 21.88 in a 200 in the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, on April 18.
She then ran 22.15 in the 200 in the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb, Croatia, on May 24.
Don’t forget about her: Femke Bol of the Netherlands won her third 400-meter hurdles race of the season without a loss when she clocked a season best of 52.11 seconds in the BAUHAUS-Galan meet, but it was the second-place finish of Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. that might have drawn the most attention.
The 35-year-old Muhammad has won two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal in the 400 hurdles in global title meets during her illustrious career, but she had struggled with injuries and illnesses during the two previous seasons.
However, she won the 400 hurdles in a season best of 53.34 in the Bislett Games last Thursday before topping that mark with a 52.91 effort behind Bol on Sunday.
Muhammad, who plans to retire after this season, had a small lead over Bol after the second of 10 flights of hurdles in Stockholm, but they basically ran even with each other while clearing the next six barriers. However, Bol had taken the lead by the ninth hurdle and she added to her advantage during the remainder of the race while recording the second-fastest time in the world this year.
Muhammad’s time left her well in front of third-place Gianna Woodruff of Panama, who ran 53.99, and it was the fastest clocking of her career since she had run 52.77 in winning the Prefontaine Classic in August of 2021.
The 25-year-old Bol had begun her week with a winning time of 52.51 in the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, on June 9.
Three for five: Grace Stark of the U.S. ran the second-fastest time of her career in winning the women’s 100-meter hurdles in 12.33 seconds in the BAUHAUS-Galan meet.
Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, the two-time defending World indoor champion in the 60 hurdles, and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands were ahead of Stark over the first three flights of hurdles. But the American had moved into second behind Visser at the fourth set of hurdles and then took over the lead by the sixth.
Ackera Nugent of Jamaica closed well over the last three to four hurdles of the race to finish second in 12.37, followed by Visser in 12.49.
Stark, 24, posted her third victory in five races this season while coming within two hundredths of a second of her personal best of 12.31 that she had set while finishing third in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last year.
Streak continues: Tara Davis-Woodhall of the U.S. posted her 11th consecutive victory in the women’s long jump when she spanned 7.05 (23-1¾) in the BAUHAUS-Galan meet.
The reigning Olympic champion defeated a superb field as Larissa Iapichino of Italy finished second at 6.90 (22-7¾), followed by Olympic bronze medalist Jasmine Moore of the U.S. at 6.76 (22-2¼) and Olympic silver medalist Malaika Mihambo of Germany at 6.75 (22-1¾).
Iapichino had finished fourth in the Olympic Games and she has the longest outdoor jump in the world this year at 7.06 (23-2).
The 26-year-old Davis-Woodhall did not have a great overall series, but she put a lot of pressure on the field when she leaped 7.05 (23-1¾) in the first round.
In addition to her 11 consecutive wins, Davis-Woodhall has jumped 7.00 (22-11¾) or farther in eight of her last nine meets.
Developing rivalry: Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine has defeated Nicola Olyslagers of Australia in 26 of 33 meetings during their careers, but they have a 2-2 record against each other this year.
The 28-year-old Olyslagers won their latest meeting when she cleared 2.01 (6-7) in the BAUHUAS-Galan meet and Mahuchikh finished second at 1.99 (6-6¼).
Olyslagers, who had won her second consecutive title in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, in March, began the competition in Stockholm by clearing 1.91 (6-3¼) on her first attempt before passing at 1.93 (6-4), clearing 1.95 (6-4¾) on her initial try and passing at 1.97 (6-5½).
Both jumpers cleared 1.99 (6-6¼) on their first attempts before Olyslagers made 2.01 (6-7) on her first try and Mahuchikh missed three times. The Australian then had three misses at 2.03 (6-8), a height that would have tied the Oceania record which she first set in 2023 and tied last year.
Big win over deep field: Nico Young of the U.S. scored the most significant victory of his young career when he won the men’s 5,000 meters in 12:45.27 in the Bislett Games in Oslo last Thursday.
The 22-year-old Young’s time was the fastest outdoor clocking in the world this year when he ran it and it bettered his personal best of 12:51.56 that he had run on Boston University’s hyper-fast 200-meter oval in early March. But perhaps most importantly, it came in a race in which he outdueled several of the top runners from Africa, as well as George Mills of Great Britain, while moving to 13th — at that time — on the all-time performer list and to second on the all-time U.S. list behind the 12:44.09 indoor world record that Grant Fisher had set in a race at Boston University in mid-February.
Biniam Mehary placed second in 12:45.93 and he was followed by Ethiopian compatriot Kuma Girma in 12:46.41, Mills in 12:46.59, Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia in 12:46.82, and Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain in 12:47.67.
Gebrihiwet was the only one of the first six finishers who did not set a personal best and Mills’ clocking bettered the British record of 12:53.11 that had been set by Mo Farah in 2011.
“It was a crazy race. This surprised me a little bit but I am really proud that I managed to stay on this pace all this time,” Young said in quotes on the meet website. “Coming into the race, I was not 100 per cent sure what I was going to do. There were so many scenarios of what could have happened. As I progressed, as I got 3K, I was like: ‘OK, I do not feel like too terrible’, so I will try to do something too and will wait and see. The best is yet to come.”
There had been talk before the race that Ethiopians Gebrhiwet and Yomif Kejelcha, the second- and fourth-fastest performers in history, respectively, might make a concerted effort to break the world record of 12:35.36 set by Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda in 2020. But it was obvious that was not going to happen when pacesetter Maximillian Thorwirth of Germany led the field through 2,000 meters in 5:07.31.
While that pace was plenty quick, it would have needed to be in the 5:02 to 5:03 range if the world record was going to be challenged.
Young was in fourth place among the non-pacesetters after two kilometers and he was in fifth when Kejelcha led compatriots Girma, Mehary, and Gebrhiwet through 3,000 meters in 7:42.09.
Kejelcha grew tired of leading after eight laps and Girma soon took over, but Mills surged into the lead just before he came through 4,000 meters in 10:20.08.
Young was in fourth place at that point, but he had moved into third behind Mills and Mehary with two laps to go. He dropped back to fourth at the beginning of the bell lap, but he had moved into third heading down the backstretch for the final time and he was in second behind Mills heading into the final curve.
He then surged into the lead with 150 meters to go and he was well clear of second-place Mehary as he entered the home straightaway.
The 18-year-old Ethiopian tried to make a run at Young in the final 50 meters of the race, but the American was too strong for him or anyone else in the contest in which a record-tying 13 runners ran under 13 minutes and the sixth- through 11th-place finishers recorded the fastest-ever times for their respective places.
Graham Blanks of the U.S., who had won his second consecutive NCAA cross country title for Harvard last November, placed seventh in 12:48.20 to move to third on the all-time national performer list and Kejelcha finished eighth in 12:49.07 after being in third place with a lap to go.
Food for thought: Isaac Nader’s winning time of 3:48.25 in the men’s mile in the Bislett Games was not lightning quick by today’s standards, but it looked as if he could have run significantly faster had he needed to as he spurted into the lead with 140 meters to go and was not seriously challenged after that in his first outdoor race of the season.
Cam Myers of Australia made a late rush to finish second in 3:48.87, his fastest-ever outdoor time, and he was followed by Stefan Nillessen of the Netherlands in 3:49.02. Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya in 3:49.06, and Robert Farken of Germany in 3:49.12.
The top 11 finishers ran under 3:50, with the top 10 setting outdoor personal bests and four of them notching national records, topped by Nader’s Portuguese best of 3:48.25.
“I am very happy to win so easily, it was a great race and the goal was the national record - that was the aim tonight so job done,” Nader said in quotes on the meet website. “The Oslo track is beautiful and the people here are amazing. This is my first race of the season and next, I will go to Spain for a 800m race then to Ostrava.
“I have confidence that I can perform in Tokyo (in the World championships) and I am very excited for the season ahead, this is only the beginning for me so it is very exciting - I hope to run very fast this year.”
The 25-year-old Nader, who had placed fourth in the 1,500 in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March, was in eighth place when pacesetter Zan Rudolf of Slovenia led the field through 409 meters in 55.73 seconds and he was in ninth when Rudolf clocked 1:53.10 at the 809-meter mark.
The pace slowed during the third lap and 2019 World champion Cheruiyot was at the front of a large lead pack when he began the bell lap in 2:52.51.
Nader was in ninth place at that point, but he began to work his way to the front midway down the backstretch and he trailed only Elliot Giles of Great Britain with 180 meters to go. He then shifted gears with roughly 140 meters left and the race for first place was quickly over as no one could match his acceleration.
The 19-year-old Myers was in no better than sixth place entering the home straightaway, but he was able to work his way up to second after Giles inexplicably left the inside of lane one wide open.
Win streak reaches three: Faith Cherotich of Kenya, the Olympic bronze medalist in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, defeated Olympic champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain for the third consecutive time when she ran what was a yearly world-leading time of 9:02.60 in the Bislett Games in Oslo.
Yavi finished second in 9:02.76 after being unable to reel in Cherotich after clearing the final barrier and Marwa Bouzayani of Tunisia placed third in 9:06.84.
Yavi had run 8:52.76 in winning the Olympic title and 8:44.39, the second-fastest time ever, in placing first in the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League meet three and a half weeks later. But Cherotich ran 9:02.36 to defeat Yavi for the Diamond League title in the Memorial van Damme meet in Brussels two weeks after that to cap her season.
She then beat her again in her season opening race in a Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar, on May 16 when her 9:05.18 effort left her just ahead of Yavi, who ran 9:05.26.
After pacesetter Kinga Krolik of Poland was a good 20 meters in front of second-place Cherotich when she went through the first kilometer in 3:04.52 in Oslo, Cherotich took over the lead with three and a half laps to go after Krolik dropped out.
Yavi was content to run behind Cherotich through 2,000 meters in 6:06.32 and she was just behind her as they cleared the final water jump. She pulled up to Cherotich’s shoulder as they approached the final barrier of the race, but the Kenyan opened a small lead on Yavi after clearing that obstacle and she was able to maintain it through the finish line.
“The race was very good,” Cherotich said in quotes on the meet website. “I have been running here before and I know that the atmosphere is always really good so I was looking forward to this competition. My target for this season is to win the world title but also, I want to run good races.”
Future star?: Yenawa Nbret of Ethiopia ran a yearly world-leading time of 30:28.82 in winning the women’s 10,000 meters in the Bislett Games on June 12.
Competing a day before the main portion of the meet, the 18-year-old Nbret led the field through the first five kilometers in 15:16.39 before Miriam Chebet of Kenya was in front at 6,000 meters in 18:21.29 and Rose Davies of Australia was in first place when she passed 7,000 meters in 21:19.22.
While the pace had picked up during the seventh kilometer of the race, it slowed over the next 2,000 meters as Nbret was in front when she clocked 24:23.74 at eight kilometers and 27:29.63 at nine kilometers.
However, she ran her final kilometer in 2:59.19 in the race in which Chebet finished second in 30:32.90 and Chalt Dida of Ethiopia placed third in a personal best of 30:33.86.
Davies finished fourth in 30:34.11 to break the Oceania record of 30:35.54 set by Kimberley Smith of New Zealand in 2008.
Win streak hits five in a row: Chase Jackson of the U.S., the bronze medalist in the women’s shot put in the World indoor championships in March, won her fifth consecutive competition of the outdoor season with a best of 20.62 (67-8) in the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, on June 9.
Jackson’s put was the farthest outdoor performance in the world this year and gave her a solid margin of victory over World indoor silver medalist Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands, who had a best of 20.16 (66-1¾).
The 30-year-old Jackson, who had finished second in her outdoor season opener in Xiamen, China, in late April, was not feeling particularly energetic in Hengelo after winning a meet — with a best of 20.03 (65-8¾) — in Tapei City, Taiwan, two days earlier. But the World outdoor champion in 2022 and 2023 produced her 20.62 (67-8) effort on her first put and she also had a 20.05 (65-9½) mark in the fifth round.
“I had no expectations really, I just got in from Asia so I think having no expectations just helped me doing what I had to do,” Jackson said in a post on the meet website. “This result gives me confidence. I know I can throw far when it counts, which is nice. I've won both my world titles on my first throw so it's very much what I do: just go big from the start.”
Briefs: Olympic hammer champion Ethan Katzberg of Canada won his fifth meet of the year without a loss when he had a best of 80.19 meters (263 feet 1 inch) in the Bislett Games in Oslo on June 11. Katzberg, who is the yearly world leader at 82.73 (271-5), has thrown 80.15 (262-11) or better in each of his last four meets. . . . . . . Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan won the women’s javelin with a season best of 64.63 (212-0) in the Bislett Games on June 12. Kitaguchi was in fourth place after the fourth round with a best of 60.86 (199-8) before she produced her winning throw in the fifth round. . . . . . . Mark English lowered his Irish record in the men’s 800 meters to 1:43.92 in winning that event in the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, on June 9. English had set the previous national best of 1:44.34 when he won the Irena Szewinska Memorial in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on May 30. . . . . . . TeeTee Terry of the U.S. won the women’s 100 meters in 10.85 seconds in the Star Athletics Sprint Series meet in Winter Garden, Florida, last Saturday after running a wind-aided 10.83 in a qualifying heat. Terry placed fifth in the Olympic Games in Paris last year and has been a member of U.S. quartets that have won the 4 x 100 relay in the last three global title meets. . . . . . . Britton Wilson of the U.S. won the women’s 400 in 51.37 in the Star Athletics Sprint Series meet. It was the first race of the season for Wilson, who has been hampered by injuries since the 2023 season, when she lowered her personal best to 49.13 in the 400 after having finished fifth in the 400 hurdles in the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. . . . . . . Donavan Brazier of the U.S. ran 1:43.81 in winning the men’s 800 meters in the Portland Track Festival in Portland, Oregon, last Saturday. Brazier, the 2019 World champion, had posted a winning time of 1:44.70 in a meet in Brentwood, Tennessee, a week earlier while running his first race in nearly three years.
Disappointing news: Grand Slam Track announced last Thursday that it was cancelling the final meet of its inaugural season that was scheduled to be held at UCLA’s Drake Stadium from June 28-29.
“The decision to conclude the inaugural Grand Slam Track season is not taken lightly, but rooted in a belief that we have successfully achieved the objectives we set out to in this pilot season, and the importance of looking towards 2026 and beyond,” Michael Johnson, the founder and commissioner of Grand Slam Track said in a statement. “We launched with a bold vision to reimagine professional track racing and we could not be more excited about what we have accomplished so far, delivering amazing races for a rabid fan base.
“As we’ve said all along, we were going to have learnings, make adjustments, and continue to improve. Sometimes we have to make moves that aren’t comfortable, but what’s most important is the future and sustainability of the league.
“The global economic landscape has shifted dramatically in the past year, and this business decision has been made to ensure our long-term stability as the world’s premier track league. Our attention is now on 2026, with our eyes set on continuing to deliver the best-in-class storytelling, content, and competition that we have become known for in our debut year. We are in conversations with potential host cities – many of whom have already thrown their names in the hat – to build out an exciting calendar of events for our fans across the globe. We are committed to calling Los Angeles home, and look forward to hosting a Slam in LA as part of the 2026 season.”
Although the statement did not include specific reasons why the final meet had been cancelled, a reuters.com post stated that Grand Slam Track sources said the economics of the deal with Drake Stadium in Los Angeles was the motivating factor on cancelling what was intended to be the final meet of the year.
While the attendance at the first Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston Jamaica, from April 4-6, had been disappointedly low, the crowds had been much larger, though far from sold out, in the second meet in Miramar, Florida, from May 2-4, and in the third meet in Philadelphia from May 31-June 1.
While Grand Slam Track has its share of critics due to a format that does not include any field events, its prize money structure was unprecedented in the sport of track and field.
In the first two meets, the winners of the six men’s and six women’s event categories were awarded $100,000, with the breakdown for the second- through eighth-place finishers being $50,000, $30,000, $25,000, $20,000, $15,000, $12,500, and $10,000.
The prize money structure remained in place for the meet in Philadelphia, except for the men’s and women’s long distance event category as the 5,000-meter races were dropped from the program. That led to the winners of the 3,000-meter races being awarded $50,000, with the breakdown for the second- through eighth-place finishers being $25,000, $15,000, $12,500, $10,000, $7,500, $6,750, and $5,000.
American sprinters Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden took home the most prize money as they were each awarded a cumulative $300,000 after winning their respective short sprints categories in each of the three meets.