Neil Gourley and Melissa Courtney-Bryant have signed up as Challengers for the inaugural Grand Slam Track meet, which takes place in Kingston, Jamaica (April 4-6).
The duo, who both competed for Great Britain at the recent European Indoor Championships, will be the sixth and seventh Brits to compete at the Kingston Slam.
Zharnel Hughes, Josh Kerr, Daryll Neita and Matt Hudson-Smith are Racers, while Dina Asher-Smith is a Challenger.
Gourley will compete in the 800m/1500m category and faces compatriot Kerr, as well as Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, Marco Arop, Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Bryce Hoppel and Mohamed Attaoui.
The 30-year-old recently placed fourth in the European indoor 1500m final, a race that saw Jakob Ingebrigtsen secure the gold medal.
Neil Gourley (Getty)
Gourley, predominantly a 1500m runner that has best of 3:30.60 over the distance, also has some pedigree in the 800m – his quickest time over two laps being 1:44.82 was set three years ago in Pfungstadt, Germany.
The Brit also set a national indoor 1000m record at last month’s Keely Klassic, clocking 2:16.74 in Birmingham.
Courtney-Bryant will compete in the 3000m/5000m category and faces Nozomi Tanaka, Tsige Gebreselama. Agnes Ngetich, Elise Cranny, Hellen Ekalale. Whittni Morgan and Ejgayehu Taye.
The 31-year-old set a Welsh indoor 3000m record of 8:28.69 in her win at last month’s New Balance Grand Prix in Boston, which also put her second on the UK all-time indoor rankings.
This past weekend, Courtney-Bryant followed that up with European indoor 3000m silver in Apeldoorn, after being pipped to gold on the line by Ireland’s Sarah Healy.
Sarah Healy (Getty)
There’s no doubt that with a best of 8:28.69 in the 3000m, Courtney-Bryant is more of a specialist over that distance than the 5000m.
Courtney-Bryant will however be confident of going much faster than her personal best of 14:53.82, given she set it six years ago.
All the Challengers for the Kingston Slam have now been announced, with other standout names being Grace Stark,Dalilah Muhammad, Ackeem Blake, Favour Ofili, and Dominic Lobalu.
Racers Devon Allen and Luis Grijalva will miss the Kingston Slam due to injuries, so an additional Challenger has been added to each of their event groups as a result.
“We are delighted to announce the final group of Challengers to round out our first ever Grand Slam Track field in Kingston,” said Michael Johnson, the league’s founder and Commissioner.
“The 96 competitors will put on a show for the world to see. I hope you can join us in Kingston for this festival of speed. We are so excited to get to Jamaica and celebrate our wonderful sport at the National Stadium.”
Michael Johnson (Grand Slam Track)
The winner of each Slam group will take home $100,000 in prize money and the eighth place competitor will earn $10,000.
Grand Slam Track will be available to watch in the UK and Ireland on TNT Sports, following a new partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Every event on the 2025 calendar will be available to stream live and on-demand on Max and discovery+.
Full Kingston Slam starts lists (® denotes Racer; © denotes Challenger):
Men’s Short Sprints (100m/200m): Kenny Bednarek ®, Fred Kerley ®, Oblique Seville ®, Zharnel Hughes ®, Courtney Lindsey ©, Ackeem Blake ©, Terrence Jones ©, Joseph Fahnbulleh ©.
Women’s Short Sprints (100m/200m): Brittany Brown ®, Daryll Neita ®, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ®, Alana Reid ©, Jacious Sears ©, Tamara Clark ©, Favour Ofili ©, Kemba Nelson ©.
Men’s Long Sprints (200m/400m): Quincy Hall ®, Muzala Samukonga ®, Matthew Hudson-Smith ®, Jereem Richards ®, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi ©, Vernon Norwood ©, Chris Bailey ©, Deandre Watkin ©.
Women’s Long Sprints (200m/400m): Gabby Thomas ®, Nickisha Pryce ®, Alexis Holmes ®, Marileidy Paulino ®, Salwa Eid Naser ®, Dina Asher-Smith ©, Talitha Diggs ©, Stacey Ann Williams ©.
Men’s Short Hurdles (100m/110m hurdles): Freddie Crittenden ®, Sasha Zhoya ®, Daniel Roberts ®, Orlando Bennett ©, Hansle Parchment ©, Cordell Tinch ©, Cameron Murray ©, Dylan Beard ©.
Women’s Short Hurdles (100m/100m hurdles): Ackera Nugent ®, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ®, Masai Russell ®, Cyréna Samba-Mayela ®, Danielle Williams ©, Grace Stark ©, Denisha Cartwright ©, Alia Armstrong ©.
Men’s Long Hurdles (400m/400m hurdles): Clément Ducos ®, Alison Dos Santos ®, Caleb Dean ®, Roshawn Clarke ®, Malik James-King ©, CJ Allen ©, Chris Robinson ©, Trevor Bassitt ©.
Women’s Long Hurdles (400m/400m hurdles): Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ®, Shamier Little ®, Rushell Clayton ®, Jasmine Jones ®, Shiann Salmon ©, Cathelijn Peeters ©, Andrenette Knight ©, Dalilah Muhammad ©.
Men’s Short Distance (800m/1500m): Cole Hocker ®, Josh Kerr ®, Yared Nuguse ®, Marco Arop ®, Emmanuel Wanyonyi ©, Bryce Hoppel ©, Neil Gourley ©, Mohamed Attaoui ©.
Women’s Short Distance (800m/1500m): Jess Hull ®, Nikki Hiltz ®, Diribe Welteji ®, Mary Moraa ®, Nelly Chepchirchir ©, Heather MacLean ©, Natoya Goule-Toppin ©, Susan Ejore ©.
Men’s Long Distance (3000m/5000m): Grant Fisher ®, Ronald Kwemoi ®, Hagos Gebrhiwet ®, Cooper Teare ©, Thierry Ndikumwenayo ©, Dominic Lobalu ©, Dylan Jacobs ©, Telahun Haile Bekele ©.
Women’s Long Distance (3000m/5000m): Nozomi Tanaka ®, Tsige Gebreselama ®, Agnes Ngetich ®, Elise Cranny ®, Hellen Ekalale ©, Whittni Morgan ©, Melissa Courtney-Bryant ©, Ejgayehu Taye ©.
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