PHILADELPHIA, PA. – Melissa Jefferson-Wooden achieved a personal best to defeat the reigning world champion in the 200 meters. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone experienced her first defeat in nearly two years. Additionally, un sponsored athlete Jamal Britt triumphed over the fastest 110-meter hurdler in the world this year. Day one of Grand Slam Track Philadelphia set facility records in all eleven events, offering a historic experience for the thousands of fans in attendance at Franklin Field on Saturday.
Jefferson-Wooden demonstrated exceptional performance in the women’s 200m event. The two-time Slam Champion in the Women’s Short Sprints launched quickly from the starting blocks and maintained her lead throughout the race, recording her personal best of 21.99 seconds, breaking the 22-second barrier for the first time. Gabby Thomas, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the event and the previous winner over Jefferson-Wooden at the Miami Slam, secured second place with a time of 22.10 seconds.
Eight Slam Champions Crowned on Record-Setting Final Night of Grand Slam Track Miami
“I’ve been working on this ever since Miami. You know, obviously I came up short, got third place [there],” said Jefferson-Wooden who has now won four of her five Grand Slam races so far this season. “I knew if I wanted to win, I had to get out, get in front, and I controlled the race and let them come get me. And that’s what I did.”
The men’s 110-meter hurdles concluded with an unexpected outcome. In a closely contested finish, Jamal Britt narrowly defeated Cordell Tinch, the fourth-fastest performer in history for the event, by just two hundredths of a second. Britt’s winning time of 13.08 seconds matched his personal best.
“With us, anything can happen,” said Britt, who has already raced more than three dozen times in 2025. “I would say this is the best generation of hurdlers, and I’m happy that I’m in it.”
The highlight of the day was the 100m hurdles event, featuring 400m hurdles world record holder and world champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone competing in a different discipline. While much attention was focused on McLaughlin-Levrone, it was defending Slam Champion Ackera Nugent who demonstrated her dominance in the event, securing first place with a time of 12.44 seconds, narrowly ahead of Tia Jones, who finished in 12.60 seconds. McLaughlin-Levrone finished fifth with a time of 12.70 seconds, marking her first individual race loss since June 2023.
“I wished I could remove myself from my body and watch the race, but it’s just like, no, I gotta focus,” said Nugent, who is a fan of McLaughlin-Levrone. “She’s very competitive no matter what she does. I had to turn my excitement off, and I just had to lock myself into space.”
Tomorrow, McLaughlin-Levrone will compete in her first professional 100-meter race.
“It felt really good, felt fun, felt fast,” said McLaughlin-Levrone of her first 100m hurdles race of 2025. “But I think the hurdle technique and just how quick they were coming up on me, I had to make some adjustments.”
McLaughlin-Levrone’s signature event, the 400 meters hurdles, was won by the athlete who finished second to her at last year’s Olympics. In her inaugural appearance at the Grand Slam, Anna Cockrell, running from lane eight, displayed a strong performance to secure the victory with a time of 54.04 seconds, finishing more than half a second ahead of Jasmine Jones, who recorded a time of 54.65 seconds.
“It’s a historic venue,” said Cockrell, who was competing at Franklin Field for the first time since high school. “It’s so fun running in front of a really, really engaged crowd. I mean, the second we walked out they were excited.”
It seems no one can beat “Kung-Fu” Kenny in the Men’s Short Sprints. Kenny Bednarek made winning the men’s 200m look easy in his time of 19.95, defeating Zharnel Hughes (20.50) by more than half a second. Bednarek has yet to lose a Grand Slam Track race in 2025.
Neither has Alison dos Santos in the Men’s Long Hurdles, but he came close in the 400m hurdles today. Dos Santos held off Trevor Bassitt, running 48.11 and winning by just over one-tenth of a second.
Marco Arop continues his undefeated streak in the 800 meters at Grand Slam Track events. Despite strong competition from emerging challengers, including reigning World Indoor Champion Josh Hoey and Olympic semi-finalist Hobbs Kessler, Arop secured the victory with a season-best performance of 1:43.38, allowing him to celebrate before crossing the finish line.
“I know I’ve got a target on my back,” said Arop. “In the 1500m I know those guys are going to come prepared tomorrow and try their best not to let me win so I’m going to have to try to step it up there.”
Marileidy Paulino maintained her strong performance in the Women’s Long Sprints Race Group. After previously winning all events in Miami, Paulino achieved a season best of 49.12 seconds to secure the victory in the 400 meters today. Having already secured two major titles, Paulino expressed satisfaction with completing her longer race on the first day of competition.
“I prefer the 400 first. And then the 200, which is pretty much the way it’s set up here,” said Paulino, who set a Dominican National Record in the 200m in Miami earlier this month. “It obviously shows. It’s working out well for me.”
Matthew Hudson-Smith experienced a varied Slam season in the men’s long sprints. However, today he secured his first 400m victory of the year in a decisive performance. Running in lane seven, Hudson-Smith finished with a strong sprint, crossing the line in 44.51 seconds. He also expressed appreciation for the experience at Franklin Field.
“You’re running two races of high quality, back-to-back,” said Hudson-Smith. “[I’ve] never raced out here. It’s very nice, there’s a lot of history here so I was excited to race here.”
The women’s 1500m record for the four-minute mark was achieved for the first time in Grand Slam Track history. Diribe Welteji surpassed a strong challenge from Jessica Hall, finishing with a time of 3:58.04 and securing the victory by a margin of just three hundredths of a second.
The women’s 3000m concluded with a competitive finish, with Agnes Ngetich demonstrating a strong final sprint to secure the victory. Ngetich narrowly outpaced Ejgayehu Taye, finishing in 8:43.61 compared to Taye’s 8:43.70.
“I’ve been working on speed,” said Ngetich, who holds the world record in the 10K road race. “I see it’s coming. Winning in Miami gave me that energy to push and we’re doing that towards the final Slam in LA.”
With the 3000m being the only event in the Women’s Long Distance, Ngetich wins the Slam Championship for the second consecutive Slam.
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