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15 May, 2025

By Grand Slam Track

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Philadelphia Slam will now take place May 31st & June 1st; Two action-packed days filled with the fastest people in the world competing in high-stakes combat racing.

New York, NY (May 15, 2025) – Grand Slam Track™, the global home of professional track competition, launched by four-time Olympic Champion Michael Johnson, today officially announced the competition schedule for the third Slam of its inaugural season, a group of new elite Challengers who will compete in Philadelphia, plus some changes to the League’s format for the Philadelphia Slam. The Philadelphia Slam will now take place across two days, rather than three, on May 31–June 1, at Franklin Field.

“Coming off an amazing sold-out Miami Slam, we’ve taken time to celebrate the successes we’ve achieved in our inaugural season, but also have looked for ways to improve Grand Slam Track™ in real time,” said Grand Slam Track™ Founder and Commissioner Michael Johnson. “We’ve said all along we want to listen to our fans, athletes, and coaches, and having heard feedback from various key stakeholders, we’ve made the decision to condense our schedule in Philadelphia into two, high-octane, and intense days of combat racing. We want to be the most flexible, adaptive, and fan-first league in sports, and we believe making these changes will improve the Grand Slam Track™ experience for all.”

Following consultations with and feedback from competitors, coaches, and fans, Grand Slam Track™ has made the following changes to the Philadelphia Slam format:

• The Philadelphia Slam will take place across two days, rather than three. This streamlined competition format will benefit fans in attendance, and viewers at home alike, providing intense, condensed, high-stakes track racing.
• To ensure the most thrilling and competitive matchups, the Men’s and Women’s Long Distance Race Groups will each compete in a single 3000m race. As they will only be competing in one race at the Slam, Long Distance Race Groups will compete for an adjusted prize pool, with the winner taking home $50,000.
• The full and updated Philadelphia Slam competition schedule is at the bottom of this release. Fans who purchased Friday-only tickets will automatically receive a full refund, with fans who purchased ticket packages that included Friday automatically receiving a partial refund for the Friday part of their ticket. This process is expected to take 5-7 business days and will begin on Friday May 16th. Fans with further questions should contact [email protected] for any additional information needed.

The league is also today announcing five exciting Challengers who will compete at the Philadelphia Slam:

• Hobbs Kessler (Men’s Short Distance), USA, 2024 World Indoor Championships Bronze Medalist - 1500m
• Josh Hoey (Men’s Short Distance), USA, 2025 World Indoor Championships Gold Medalist - 800m
• Georgia Hunter Bell (Women’s Short Distance), United Kingdom, 2024 Olympic Bronze Medalist - 1500m, 2024 European Championships Silver Medalist - 1500m
• Nia Akins (Women’s Short Distance), USA, 2024 US Olympic Trials Champion - 800m
• Isabella Whittaker (Women’s Long Sprints), USA, Indoor American Record Holder - 400m, 2025 Miami Slam 3rd Place - Women’s Long Sprints

The Philadelphia Slam will also see an epic rematch from Miami, with Gabby Thomas once again competing in the Women’s Short Sprints Race Group, and facing off against her rival and two-time Slam Champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. Also in Philadelphia, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will compete in the Women’s Short Hurdles Race Group, which will see her run the 100m professionally for the very first time. This Race Group will also see the first ever face-off between three Slam Champions, as Miami Slam Champion Ackera Nugent, and two-time Slam Champion McLaughlin-Levrone, will be joined by returning Challenger and Kingston Slam Champion Danielle Williams, all battling for glory and the $100,000 prize.

The Challengers announced today join the already announced Williams, Ditaji Kambundji, Trey Cunningham, Jakub Szymański, Lorenzo Simonelli, & Cordell Tinch. The Grand Slam Track™ roster of 48 Racers who will compete in Philadelphia includes Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, Kenny Bednarek, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Grant Fisher, Sasha Zhoya, Marileidy Paulino, Salwa Eid Naser, Alison dos Santos, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Nikki Hiltz, Masai Russell, Alexis Holmes, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, Josh Kerr, Oblique Seville, Ackera Nugent, Roshawn Clarke, Rushell Clayton, Nickisha Price, Cyréna Samba-Mayela, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Jereem Richards, Ronald Kwemoi, Agnes Ngetich, Muzala Samukonga, Jess Hull, Marco Arop, & many more.

Tickets to see these Racers & Challengers compete on Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia are on sale NOW at grandslamtrack.com/events/philadelphia

More Challenger announcements will be made in due course as we head towards the Philadelphia Slam. Grand Slam Track™ is being broadcasted in 198 countries and territories worldwide. For information on where to watch, click here. For further information, please follow @GrandSlamTrack on all social media platforms, and visit grandslamtrack.com.

Philadelphia Slam Competition Timetable

*All times listed are local time in Philadelphia. The schedule is subject to change.

About Grand Slam Track

Grand Slam Track™ is the global home of elite track competition founded by four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson. The league is redefining the landscape of track with a focus on head-to-head competition between the fastest humans on the planet: fostering rivalries, celebrating racing, and putting fans first. The league features a roster of 48 Racers signed to compete in four annual Slams and includes superstars like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Grant Fisher, Josh Kerr, Marileidy Paulino, and many more. These Racers compete against 48 Challengers, who vary per Slam; each Slam features the largest and deepest prize purse in the history of the sport. The inaugural Grand Slam Track™ season in 2025 sees Slams take place in Kingston, Jamaica; Miami; Philadelphia; and Los Angeles. For more information, visit grandslamtrack.com.

About Michael Johnson

Born in Dallas, Texas, Michael Johnson is a Hall of Fame track and field star, universally recognized as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships across his career, and held world and Olympic records in both the 200m and 400m races. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Johnson became the first and only male athlete to win the Gold medal in both the 200m and 400m at the same Olympics. Since retiring from active competition, Johnson has become a serial entrepreneur and investor, as well as highly sought after performance mindset speaker and an award winning television commentator. Johnson has been a pundit for the BBC’s coverage of every Olympics Games since Athens 2004, and remains a key voice on, and advocate for the sport. Johnson was inducted into the United States Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Ben Sosenko

[email protected]

Callum Squires

[email protected]

On behalf of Grand Slam Track