Gabby Thomas delivered a powerful performance in Kingston, Jamaica, on Friday night, April 4, 2025, winning the women’s 200m in 22.62 seconds to headline a star-studded opening day of the inaugural Grand Slam Track competition.
The Olympic bronze medalist and 200m specialist from the United States ran away from a loaded field, beating Olympic 400m champion Marileidy Paulino (22.96 sec) and Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith (22.96 sec) in a dominant showing.
Thomas now leads the ‘Long Sprints’ category, where athletes must compete in both the 200m and 400m, with $100,000 in prize money at stake for the overall winner at each of four meets this year.
“Normally, these early season meets we’re just practicing and feeling it out,” Thomas said post-race. “Here the stakes are high, the prize pot is huge and the level of competition is also really high. That’s not something we’re really used to in our sport, and I think it’s really good.”
The Grand Slam Track series, the brainchild of track icon Michael Johnson, is a bold attempt to inject energy, cash, and global attention into track and field between Olympic cycles.
With high-stakes prize money and only eight athletes per category, the pressure is on every step of the way.
