Grand Slam Track announced on Thursday that the first set of Challengers who will compete at its inaugural meet in Kingston, Jamaica, will all hail from the island nation.
The first meet is on April 4–6 at National Stadium and now it appears that the remainder of the roster has begun to take shape.
The group of six athletes will compete in a mix of hurdles and sprints and the early lineup includes:
Hansle Parchment and Orlando Bennett (men’s short hurdles), Malik James-King (men’s long hurdles), Danielle Williams, women’s short hurdles, Shiann Salmon (women’s long hurdles) and Alana Reid (women’s short sprints).
This initial group will make up the 48 Challengers who will compete against the 48 Racers who were all named throughout 2024.
The league also said on Thursday that more Challengers will be announced closer to the first meet in April.
But ahead of unveiling the latest additions to the roster, organizers announced last week that broadcast deals were finally in place, with NBC Sports, Peacock and The CW obtaining the rights to air Grand Slam meets.
Created by track legend Michael Johnson, the league’s meets are designed to showcase engaging matchups during its two-day “Slams.” Prizes are significantly higher than other track competitions, with event winners taking home $100,000.
When Johnson introduced the league in early 2024, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was the first high profile athlete to sign as a Racer. She was later joined by other standouts in track like Gabby Thomas, Alexis Holmes, Fred Kerley, Cole Hocker, Grant Fisher, Yared Nuguse and Josh Kerr.
