Miami, FL. The opening night of Grand Slam Track’s second event featured a landmark achievement in the women’s 100m hurdles. Masai Russell recorded a wind-legal time of 12.17 seconds, establishing a new American record. Her performance also ranks as the second-fastest time ever recorded globally. In front of a large audience at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Florida, during ideal spring conditions, Russell’s outstanding performance contributed to a night that included two world-leading times and multiple personal bests, marking a significant and memorable occasion.
Russell secured her victory in the 100m hurdles by a remarkably narrow margin, narrowly surpassing fellow American Tia Jones by only two hundredths of a second. Jones, the winner of this event at the Kingston Slam last month, has now established herself as the third-fastest woman in world history.
“I wasn’t expecting that. I always tell y’all when it’s time for me to run fast, I love to run fast,” said Russell, the reigning Olympic gold medalist. “I know if I had the wind to my back I’m very competitive against anybody in the world.”
Russell is the team leader of the Women’s Short Hurdles Race Group, which will be competing in the 100-meter flat event on Saturday.
The Men’s Long Sprints event featured a performance that set a new national record and achieved the fastest time worldwide for the year. Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago narrowly secured victory in a photo finish against Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic, with both athletes recorded at a time of 19.86 seconds. As a result, Ogando currently holds the Dominican national record. This performance marked Richards’ first sub-20-second result since 2022 and represents the leading time globally for the year.
“This is a fast track. It might be the fastest track in the world right now,” said Richards, who said he got sick just before last month’s Slam in Kingston. “Come back tomorrow, $100k on the line and I am looking forward to it.”
Ogando was not the only Dominican athlete to achieve success this evening. In the women’s long sprints category, Marileidy Paulino secured victory in the 400 meters following a competitive race against Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser. Paulino’s finishing time of 49.21 seconds represents her season’s best performance. The athletes will compete again in the 200 meters on Sunday.
Brazilian athlete Alison dos Santos achieved a clean sweep in this season’s Men’s Long Hurdles Race Group, recording a time of 47.97 seconds and finishing nearly a second ahead of American competitor Chris Robinson. Both athletes are scheduled to compete again on Sunday in the 400-meter flat race, an event in which Robinson currently holds the world leading time.
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s performance was aided by a tailwind of +2.4, which slightly impacted her celebration after winning the 100-meter race in the Women’s Short Sprints Race Group. The American athlete recorded a time of 10.75 seconds, narrowly surpassing fellow American Tamari Davis. They are scheduled to compete in the 200-meter event on Saturday.
In the distance race events, Great Britain’s Josh Kerr demonstrated his prowess, reaffirming his position as the first male athlete signed to Grand Slam Track. After allowing the 800-meter specialists to lead the Men’s Long Distance Race Group in Kingston, Kerr regained the leader’s position in his discipline and secured the victory with a time of 3:34.51.
“I executed exactly what I wanted to today, but I’m surrounded by amazing racers,” said Kerr, who battled injury throughout the indoor track season. “A lot of emotion came out at the end there and it’s mostly due to not having the best winter, being a little bit behind but knowing that I’m back now.”
Following Kerr, the Paris Olympic podium experienced a reshuffle, with Yared Nuguse and Cole Hocker, both representing the United States, securing second and third positions, respectively. The 800-meter event is scheduled for Saturday.
“I knew she would move at either 100 meters or 200 meters, so I tried to accelerate with 200 meters to go,” said Ngetich, whose winning time of 14:25.80 is a personal best. “I got the world record just a few days ago. It gave me motivation to come and push here.”
The 3000-meter race in the Men’s Long Distance Race Group experienced one of the evening’s most notable upsets. After a relatively slow 2200 meters, the race intensified with two laps remaining. Defending Slam Champion Grant Fisher found himself in a close sprint finish with Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran. Coscoran narrowly edged Fisher at the finish line with a time of 8:17.56, winning by four-hundredths of a second. Fisher expressed confidence in performing better in Sunday’s 5000-meter event, where he aims to defend his Race Group title from Kingston.
Six days after setting the world record in the 10 km road race, Agnes Ngetich achieved a world-leading time in the 5000 meters. The Kenyan athlete maintained the lead for most of the race, despite twice requesting Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa to assist with pacing.
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