Grand Slam Track Miami Day 3: Records Fall, Stars Rise in Miramar Finale
The 2nd leg of the 2025 Grand Slam Track series wrapped up in style on Sunday, May 4, at the Miramar Sports Complex near Miami. Twelve athletes were crowned Grand Slam champions, with five repeating their victories from Kingston: Kenny Bednarek, Melissa Jefferson, Grant Fisher, Alison Dos Santos, and Sydney McLaughlin. Six world-leading performances were delivered across sprints, hurdles, and distance events in a high-energy finale that showcased world-class competition and crowd-pleasing drama.
Women’s 400 Metres (Long Hurdles Category):
Olympic champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin followed up her world-leading 52.07 in the 400m hurdles on Saturday with a dominant 49.69 win in the 400m flat on Sunday. She finished nearly two seconds ahead of Anna Hall, who clocked 51.68 after placing third in the hurdles.
McLaughlin has never started a season faster in May. Her double victory secured a perfect 24-point score in the long hurdles category at both Grand Slam Track meetings, earning her back-to-back titles. Jamaica’s Andrenette Knight placed second in both the 400m hurdles (54.08) and in the overall standings.
Sydney McLaughlin: “I’m hoping to run the 100 metres hurdles and 100 metres in Philadelphia at the end of May. I’ll switch it up—work on my hurdle technique and on my sprints. It should be good fun.”
Men’s 200 Metres (Short Sprint Category):
Double Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek delivered a world-leading 19.84 (+0.2 m/s) in the 200 metres, backing up his 100m win (wind-assisted 9.79). Bednarek earned a perfect 24 points and clinched his second Grand Slam Track title, collecting a total of $200,000 for his clean sweep in Kingston and Miami.
He bettered the previous world lead of 19.86, set just two days earlier by Jereem Richards in Miami.
Kenny Bednarek: “I’m just happy with where we’re at. It was a good progression from the first Slam until now. It shows you what you have to work on. Just a great crowd. I'm excited for the next Slam and grateful to walk away now as a double Slam champion.”
Zharnel Hughes took second in 20.13, narrowly beating Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who ran a personal best of 20.13. Seville secured second in the overall short sprint standings ahead of Hughes. Canadian star André De Grasse finished fourth with a season-best 20.23.
Women’s 200 Metres (Long Sprint Category):
Olympic and world 400m champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic stormed to victory in 22.30—a national record—to claim the 200m in the long sprint category after winning the 400m earlier. Paulino ended with a perfect score of 24 points. Bahrain’s Selwa Naser was runner-up in 22.53, while NCAA indoor champion Isabella Whittaker took third, setting a personal best of 22.76.
Men’s 400 Metres (Long Hurdles Category):
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos, the 2022 world 400m hurdles champion, followed his hurdles win with a personal best of 44.53 to take the 400m flat. He also secured a perfect 24-point total. Chris Robinson ran 44.86 for second, ahead of Calb Dean (45.18).
Women’s 800 Metres (Short Distance Category):
World champion Mary Moraa of Kenya clocked a season-best 1:59.51 to win the women’s 800 metres with a negative split, running her second lap faster than the first. It was a strong comeback after finishing eighth in Kingston (2:00.97).
Kingston 800m winner Nikki Hiltz placed second in 1:59.75. Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu, fresh off her 1500m win, came third in 1:59.54 and won the short distance category title.
Men’s 100 Metres (Short Hurdles Category):
Trey Cunningham completed the double in the short hurdles category with a personal best of 10.17 in the 100 metres after his 110m hurdles win. He secured the Grand Slam title. Jamal Britt matched his PB with 10.20 for second. Sasha Zhoya and Daniel Roberts set new bests with 10.36 and 10.40 respectively, with Zhoya leapfrogging Britt in the overall standings.
Trey Cunningham: “Whether you’re more of a sprinter or a hurdler, it doesn’t matter. We’re all pushing ourselves to cross that line first. It’s what’s between your ears on race day. As the season heats up, so does the pressure. Focus brings success.”
Women’s 3000 Metres (Long Distance Category):
Ethiopia’s Hirut Meshesha won the women’s 3000m in 8:22.72, narrowly beating Medina Eisa (8:23.08) and Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich (8:23.14), with all three setting personal bests. The overall long distance category was decided by a tiebreak: both Ngetich and Meshesha were tied on points, but Ngetich took the title with a faster combined 3000m/5000m time, having beaten Meshesha by nearly 15 seconds in the 5000m on Friday.
Men’s 5000 Metres (Long Distance Category):
Double Olympic bronze medallist Grant Fisher surged with four laps to go and took the 5000m in 13:40.32, adding to his second-place finish in the 3000m to win the long distance category title. Cooper Teare placed second (13:46.25) ahead of Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran (13:46.30).
Grant Fisher: “I need to win in different ways. In Jamaica, I won with my kick. That didn’t work two days ago, so we switched it up. The 5000m doesn’t always get the love, so to have a packed house reacting to your moves—yeah, that felt good. This series is about entertainment. If I’m enjoying it, it helps others connect, too.”
