The British 400m record-holder puts on a demonstration as he triumphs by over half a second at Franklin Field
Matt Hudson-Smith’s consistent start to his outdoor season continued with yet another impressive win at Grand Slam Track (May 31).
The British 400m record-holder and Olympic silver medallist won by over half a second to the rest of the field, clocking 44.51 over one lap at Franklin Field.
After a blistering first 200m, it looked like that Jereem Richards would challenge the Brit but he faded in the final 100m and placed third with 45.05. Khaleb McRae finished strong for second and ran 45.04.
Hudson-Smith became the men’s Long Sprints (200m/400m) champion in Kingston and, off the back of his third 44-second clocking over 400m this season – the other two being 44.37 and 44.65 – he is now well placed to reclaim that crown in Philadelphia.
He won’t have to wait long to find out either, with Grand Slam Track streamlining the competition schedule for Philadelphia from three to two days. Michael Johnson, who founded Grand Slam Track, stated that the decision was “based on feedback from various key stakeholders” and he promised “two, high-octane and intense days of combat racing”.
Heavy rain threatened to dampen the occasion at Franklin Field –  a stadium that opened in 1895 specifically for the first Penn Relay Carnival – but, even though the conditions were cold, the bad weather thankfully kept away.
Elsewhere in the 400m, Marileidy Paulino delivered another clinical run and looked mightily impressive in running a season’s best of 49.12. The Puerto Rican saw off the challenge of Salwa Eid Naser – the duo secured respective Olympic gold and silver medals in Paris last summer – who ran 49.47. However, Eid Naser ended up finishing in the wrong lane and was later disqualified.
Marco Arop produced one of the most impressive victories during the entire inaugural Grand Slam Track season, decimating a world class 800m field over two laps. The Canadian replicated the type of form that saw him secure an Olympic silver medal in Paris last summer, with Arop’s dominant front-running style leaving his competitors well behind. He clocked 1:43.38 and had 400m splits of 52.04 and 51.34.
World indoor 800m champion Josh Hoey placed second with 1:44.41 and Yared Nuguse ran 1:45.36 for third. Josh Kerr, who took the men’s Short Distance (800m/1500m) crown in Miami, finished fifth in 1:45.80.
Diribe Welteji came out on top over 1500m at Franklin Field, with the world silver medallist in the distance edging out Olympic silver medallist Jess Hull in a titanic tussle – the pair running 3:58.04 and 3:58.36 respectively. Georgia Hunter Bell was fourth in 4:00.85.
Just nine hundredths of a second separated Agnes Ngetich and Ejgayehu Taye, as the distance running duo produced one of the closest races of the entire Grand Slam Track season. Ngetich, who broke the women’s-only world 10km record last month, fired in a sensational 61-second last lap to clock 8:43.61 and take the 3000m win on the line.
Ngetich became the Grand Slam champion, with the move from three to day days seeing the 5000m axed. That means that those athletes in the Long Distance group are only competing in the 3000m at Franklin Field, with $50,000 and not $100,000 up for grabs.
Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden continued their dominance at Grand Slam Track – the US duo took the Short Sprints (100m/200m) titles in both Kingston and Miami.
It was always likely that Bednarek would extend his unbeaten run in Pennsylvania and the double Olympic 200m silver medallist duly delivered, clocking a facility record of 19.95 (0.0) and beating both Zharnel Hughes and Aaron Brown (20.50) by over half a second.
Jefferson-Wooden had a much sterner test though, with Gabby Thomas dropping down from the Long Sprints (200m/400m) to the Short Sprints. In what was a much-anticipated clash between the Olympic 100m bronze medallist and Olympic 200m champion, Jefferson-Wooden shocked Thomas and won with a personal best of 21.99 (1.1). Thomas recorded a time of 22.10 and Dina Asher-Smith placed fourth with 22.65.
Alison dos Santos kept his undefeated streak alive at Grand Slam Track as the 2022 world 400m hurdles champion edged out Trevor Bassitt. It was anyone’s call down the back straight but the Brazilian just about got the job done, clocking 48.11 to Bassitt’s 48.25.
Anna Cockrell was victorious over 400m hurdles in Philadelphia, with the Olympic silver medallist in the event – from lane eight – clocking 54.04 at Franklin Field. Lina Nielsen was sixth in 57.14.
The event ended with the 100m and 110m hurdles. The headline act in the former was Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dropping down from the Long Hurdles (400m/400m hurdles) to the Short Hurdles (100m/100m hurdles).
The world 400m record-holder, aiming to challenge herself, recorded a time of 12.70 for fifth – just outside of her personal best (12.65) from four years ago, Ackera Nugent took the win in 12.44.
Cordell Tinch, off the back of running 12.87 at the Keqiao Diamond League – putting him joint-fourth on the 110m hurdles all-time list – was a surprising second in Philadelphia. Tinch clocked 13.10 but compatriot Jamal Britt secured the victory with 13.08.
