The first-ever Grand Slam Track champions were crowned on Saturday with Kenny Bednarek, Gabby Thomas, Matthew Hudson-Smith and Diribe Welteji winning top prizes on the second day of events in Kingston, Jamaica.
Bednarek was in top form and added a win in the men’s 200m in 20.07 to go with his victory in the 100m on Friday. Zharnel Hughes was second in 20.37. Bednarek swept the men’s short sprints category and is also the first Grand Slam athlete to win each event in a race group.
“I said I wanted to dominate and that’s what I did,” Bednarek said. “I came out and made 100k. Happy about that.”
After taking the win in the men’s 100m in 10.07 on Friday, Bednarek quickly stacked 12 points — the most in a group — to lead his set and grabbed and additional 12 points with the 200m title.
“I mean this is a big moment, this is going to change the sport,” added Bednarek, who is a two-time Olympic 200m silver medalist. “If we do our part, Grand Slam is going to do theirs. This is a life changing moment. Let’s keep rolling.”
Meanwhile, Thomas won the women’s long group title with her 49.14 second place finish in the women’s 400 as her 20 point combined total gave her the edge over Salwa Eid Naser (17 points) who took the 400m in 48.67. Thomas won the women’s 200m on Friday.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been more tired in my life,” Thomas said after the race. “Going into that, I knew that was going to be one of the hardest races of my life — just because of the talent in the field.”
Thomas later added, “This is the biggest prize pot we’ve ever had in the sport so the stakes are high. I know it’s early in the season and we all want to win. I think that really showed in our race.”
The winners of each event group earns a $100,000 in prize and eighth place finished receive $10,000.
Hudson-Smith secured the men’s long sprint group championship with a win in the 200m in 20.77, just slipping past Jereem Richards who was second in 20.81. Hudson-Smith stacked 20 points in his race group as Christopher Bailey was second with 16.
“Obviously, you’re racing the best in the world and to come back on top, it’s a great feeling,” Hudson-Smith “I was excited. Very sloppy first race, it takes a while to get used to it. I’m trying new things, trying new rhythms and I’m trying to push and continue into the next stage. I’m excited for what’s to come, really.”
Welteji took the women’s short distance prize after crossing the line in 4:04.51 in the 1500m, giving her 20 points overall and narrowly taking the title from Nikki Hiltz (18 points) who finished third in 4:05.39. Welteji was second in the 800m on Friday and needed a strong performance the following day to win her race group.
