De Grasse concludes Grand Slam Track debut with 4th-place finish in 200m
Canada’s Andre De Grasse and Jerome Blake put on a solid performance at the Grand Slam Track meet in Miramar, Florida, finishing sixth and seventh in the men’s short sprints group. De Grasse, 29, from Markham, Ontario, impressed with a fourth-place finish in the 200-metre race, clocking in at a season-best time of 20.23 seconds. Meanwhile, Blake, 29, from Kelowna, British Columbia, crossed the line in sixth place with a time of 20.40 seconds.
The top spot on the podium went to Kenny Bednarek of the United States, who set a world-leading time of 19.84 seconds. British sprinter Zarnell Hughes claimed second place with a time of 20.13 seconds, narrowly edging out Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who also finished in 20.13 seconds.
Bednarek continued his dominance by winning the 100-metre race on Saturday with a blistering time of 9.79 seconds. De Grasse and Blake finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in that event. This victory marked Bednarek’s second men’s short sprint Slam title after his win in Kingston, Jamaica, earlier in the year.
De Grasse and Blake, both members of Canada’s gold-medal-winning 4×100 relay team at the Paris Olympics, made their Grand Slam Track debut over the weekend. De Grasse earned $15,000 for his sixth-place finish, while Blake took home $12,500 for finishing in seventh.
In the women’s events, Toronto middle-distance runner Lucia Stafford faced tough competition in the 800 metres, finishing last in a field of eight. Despite a sixth-place finish in the 1,500 metres the day before, Stafford struggled to maintain her position in the 800-metre race.
Mary Moraa of Kenya claimed victory in the women’s 800 metres with a time of 1:59.51, followed by American Nikki Hiltz and Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu. Stafford, who finished last in the competition, will receive $10,000 for her efforts.
Grand Slam Track, created by American sprinting legend Michael Johnson, features a unique format where athletes compete in two different events over a three-day meet. Points are awarded based on their placings in each race, with the athlete accumulating the most points winning their group and a top prize of $100,000. The total prize pool for the Grand Slam Track events amounts to $12.6 million.
The tour will continue with events in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, offering athletes the opportunity to showcase their talent and compete for lucrative prize money.
