by RBR Admin
GRAND SLAM TRACK™ Announces Signings of Masai Russell, Cyréna Samba-Mayela, & Jasmine Camacho-Quinn
The three superstar Racers made up the entire podium in the 100m Hurdles at Paris Olympics
New York, NY (September 25, 2024) – Grand Slam Track™, the new global home of professional track competition, launched earlier this year by four-time US Olympic Champion Michael Johnson, today officially announced the signings of all three medalists in the Women’s 100m Hurdles at this past summer’s Paris Olympic Games: Masai Russell, who won Gold, Cyréna Samba-Mayela, who took home Silver, and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who nabbed Bronze. Separated at the finish line by just three hundredths of a second, the trio electrified crowds in Paris, and will now set their collective sights on doing the same in the inaugural Grand Slam Track™ season in 2025.
“What a great day for Grand Slam Track™,” said Michael Johnson, the league’s founder and Commissioner. “Adding Masai, Cyréna, and Jasmine to our roster of Racers is a fantastic moment for this league, and fans of Track all around the world. These three incredibly talented young women provided the world with one of the best races of the Paris Olympic Games, and now we know for certain that we’ll be seeing that contest four more times in 2025. With bragging rights and big money on the line, the stakes are high, and that’s what Grand Slam Track™ is all about. Our team is only going from strength to strength, and we are delighted to have Masai, Cyréna, and Jasmine on board the GST train… and it’s only getting faster.”
Russell, originally from Washington D.C., was a first time Olympian this past summer. She snagged the Gold medal in the 100m Hurdles with a time of 12.33. She competed collegiately for the University of Kentucky. Samba-Mayela hails from Champigny-sur-Marne, France. Her impressive resume includes a World Indoor Championship across 60m Hurdles in 2022, and a European Championship in 2024 across her regular 100m Hurdles distance. Her 12.34 in Paris earned her the Silver medal. Camacho-Quinn won the 2021 Olympic Gold medal in the 100m Hurdles in Tokyo, representing Puerto Rico, the birthplace of her mother. Like Russell, she was also a Kentucky Wildcat during her intercollegiate career, where she won three NCAA Division I National Championships (2 x 100mH, 1 x 4x100m). She claimed Bronze in Paris with her time of 12.36. The three rivals will compete against each other across all four Slams in 2025, so Grand Slam Track™ fans around the world can now look forward to them renewing their hostilities on the track.
“Signing with Grand Slam Track™ is a great moment for me personally and professionally,” said Russell. “The vision for this league is clear – putting fans and athletes first, and that’s something I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of. Coming off the Olympics, I want to continue regularly competing at the highest level, against the best in the world, and I’m certain that Grand Slam Track™ is the place for that. I’m delighted that Cyréna and Jasmine are joining too, and I’ll look forward to seeing them line up next to me on the track four times next year.”
“This is a very special opportunity for me,” said Samba-Mayela. “I am proud to be the first French athlete to sign with Grand Slam Track™, and look forward to representing my country in this new and exciting league. Michael’s vision for the sport’s future is huge, and I’m delighted to be able to be a part of it. Giving the athletes more freedom to express ourselves and grow our brands is a great step forward in the Track world, and the fans will reap the benefits of this. Knowing that I will race against Jasmine and Masai four times each year is fantastic, and I look forward to continuing to test myself against formidable opposition.”
“I am delighted to announce my participation in Grand Slam Track™,” said Camacho-Quinn. “Representing Puerto Rico on the new biggest stage in global Track will be an honor for me. As soon as I heard about the league, the concept, and the desire to keep Track at the forefront of the sports world, I knew I had to be a part of it. I can’t wait to get started, and am looking forward to facing Masai and Cyréna at all of the Slams next year.”
Each year, 48 athletes will be named to the league as GST Racers. Russell, Samba-Mayela, and Camacho-Quinn join Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Melissa Jefferson, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, and Josh Kerr, as the first ten of these 48 to be announced. These racers are selected by the Grand Slam Track™ Racing Committee based on a combination of factors to include the fastest and best racers in each race group, with a focus on fierce rivalries and thrilling competitive racing. GST Racers commit to racing in all four Slams per year. They will receive an annual base compensation for racing in each Slam and are eligible for full prize money. These GST Racers will receive annual contracts, access to the GST content and data services team, inclusion in the league collective, group licensing and new revenue opportunities, plus access to world class athlete support services throughout the season. GST racers are compensated under contract to race and promote the league and receive additional marketing and branding support.
The remaining 48 racers will be known as GST Challengers and will be paid a set appearance fee to compete at individual Slams. GST Challengers are chosen by the Grand Slam Track™ Racing Committee based on a combination of factors including recent performances, and the most intriguing athletes and matchups.
Racers and Challengers will be assigned to compete in one of the following categories, and will all race in two events during each Slam: short sprints (100m/200m), short hurdles (100H or 110H/100m), long sprints (200m/400m), long hurdles (400H/400m), short distance (800m/1500m), or long distance (3000m/5000m). All competitors’ final placement score will be determined by their combined finishing order between the two races. In the event of a tie across the two events, it will be the athlete who had the quickest combined time across the two races who will be deemed the winner. The winner of each Slam group will take home $100,000 in prize money, and the 8th place competitor will earn $10,000. Grand Slam Track™ will have a total of $12.6m of prize money that will be awarded across the slams each year in addition to the base compensation and appearance fees paid to racers.
The focus of Grand Slam Track™ is on head to head competition, not winning times. There will be no rabbits or pacing lights. Each Slam is equally as important as any other, will have its own prize purse, and will be independently scored, with points and previous finishes not carrying over to the following Slams. All racers will compete twice over the three-day event, and all Slam events will meet World Athletics regulations, with achieved marks being eligible for rankings and standards.
Racers will compete in their own sponsored kits, without traditional hip numbers or bibs. Racers and Challengers are encouraged to work with their sponsors to create customized kits, in their own desired style. Grand Slam Track™ has no affiliation or sponsorship agreement with any shoe company; all shoe companies are considered to be important stakeholders and partners in the promotion of our racers.
Grand Slam Track™ has secured more than $30 million in financial commitments from investors and strategic partners for the launch of the league. Winners Alliance, a global, athlete-centric
commercial solution and Johnson’s operating partner, was the lead investor in the first fundraising close for the new venture. The investment in the league will aid in Johnson’s ultimate goal: to develop better engagement with fans by promoting track and field’s biggest stars and reaching new audiences with unique, innovative storytelling.
Ticket sales information will be released in due course. For further information, please follow @GrandSlamTrack on all social media platforms, and 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.
