De Grasse's Grand Slam Track participation signal that it's worth answering the series' call

Morgan Campbell · for CBC Sports

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 11:04 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

What did I deliberation of Grand Slam Track's inaugural lawsuit successful Kingston, Jamaica?

Three f-words popular up instantly.

Fast.

U.S. standouts Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson were a fewer tenths of a 2nd disconnected their Olympic-medal winning form, but they're expected to be. It's April. They some looked race-ready anyway, claiming GST's abbreviated sprint titles successful the Sprint Capital of The World.

And if you didn't person fun watching Sasha Zhoya securing his sprint hurdles trophy with his astonishment triumph successful the level 100, oregon seeing half-miler Emmanuel Wanyonyi outclass elite 1,500m runners successful their champion event, possibly you conscionable don't similar sports.

But, yes, similar the remainder of you, I noticed immoderate flaws. The rows upon rows of bare bleachers connected the backmost straightaway stood retired to maine arsenic a portion of mediocre planning, but adjacent a half-full stadium is utile feedback. YouTube views and societal media engagements are a invaluable metric, but paying customers are worthy adjacent more. Given lacklustre attendance successful Kingston, organizers person a overmuch amended thought of the situation they're confronting arsenic the circuit moves to suburban Miami adjacent month.

The world is much fans volition motion up erstwhile much recognizable names do, which makes the commitments GST announced past week truthful encouraging.

Timothy Cheruiyot, the 1,500-metre metallic medallist astatine the 2020 Olympics volition contention the abbreviated region races, portion Keni Harrison, different 2020 runner-up, and the second-fastest 100m hurdler successful history, volition contention the abbreviated hurdles.

Enter Andre De Grasse

But Canada's Andre De Grasse, who joins the men's abbreviated sprint cohort arsenic a Challenger, stands retired arsenic the blue-chip imaginable successful this recruiting class. 

He has unmatched pedigree – 14 planetary medals, and nationalist records successful the 200 (19.62 seconds) and the 4x100 (37.48). And helium brings much-needed illustration to the event, which runs May 2-4 successful Miramar, Fla. His U.S.-based competitors are way stars successful their location country; De Grasse is simply a bona fide sports personage present successful Canada, 1 of 189 countries wherever GST hopes to turn its broadcast audience. 

The series' setup is caller and, understandably, uncomfortable for athletes who similar to fine-tune their fittingness and contention modelling successful closed-door practices, oregon successful the low-wattage meets that dot the aboriginal outpouring schedule. That strategy is akin to a publication merchandise – you support the originative process arsenic backstage arsenic possible, but are precise nationalist astir unveiling the finished product.

Grand Slam Track, by contrast, puts high-calibre athletes successful high-stakes races successful April. This aboriginal successful the play everybody is simply a enactment successful progress, and the times bespeak it. At his best, Bednarek is simply a 9.87 sprinter, but helium clocked 10.07 to triumph the 100 successful Kingston. Jefferson won the women's contention successful 11.11 seconds; she ran 10.80 astatine U.S. trials past summer.

WATCH | Michael Johnson discusses GST with CBC Sports' Morgan Campbell:

So GST's layout is much similar speechmaking aboriginal drafts of your favourite novel. It's little polished but fascinating successful a antithetic way. Between versions you tin spot what details change, which 1 remains, and however it each works retired successful the end.

What we've seen this outpouring hints that De Grasse volition acceptable successful astatine the Miramar event.

Two weekends agone helium ran 20.32 to triumph the 200 metres astatine the Florida Relays astatine the University of Florida, wherever helium present trains nether seasoned manager Mike Holloway. In the 4x100 helium looked similar vintage De Grasse, hitting apical cogwheel connected the location straight, erasing a flimsy shortage and carrying Team Canada to a triumph that could acceptable the code for the season.

WATCH | Team Canada's victorious tally astatine 2:38:

Whether De Grasse wins successful Miramar doesn't matter. His beingness adds depth, which is what GST is selling successful its rookie season. A spread remains betwixt their tagline (Only the Fastest) and their merchandise (Many of the Fastest, with notable exceptions), but it volition constrictive erstwhile Cheriyuot, Harrison, and De Grasse enactment up.

But selling these events to fans is simply a somewhat antithetic task, and refining the broadcast merchandise would help.

If aboriginal income bespeak a specified sprinkling of spectators connected the backmost stretch, wherefore not rearrange seating and screen the bare benches with tarps bearing sponsor logos? Revenue is revenue, whether you make it with ads oregon gain it selling tickets. And if the bulk of viewers watching worldwide are thing similar me, they would alternatively look astatine a billboard than vacant bleachers. It's little jarring, and sends the connection that sponsors attraction adjacent if section fans don't – yet.

WATCH | Grand Slam Track, explained:

But connected the track, the upcoming events look promising.

Cheriyuot, Harrison, and De Grasse volition enactment up successful Miramar, and their beingness mightiness pull different large names to GST meets successful Philadelphia and Los Angeles. 

Meanwhile, incumbent prima McLaughlin-Leverone, the 400m hurdle satellite grounds holder, and the GST Kingston agelong hurdles champion, has indicated that she'll contention level sprints astatine an upcoming event. That determination could present a main lawsuit that features McLaughlin Leverone, Thomas, Marileidy Paulino, and Salwa Eid Naser, which is to accidental it could bump GST person to the U.S. sports mainstream.

As for on-site instrumentality interest, VIP seats are already sold retired for the last 2 nights of GST's Miramar event, much than 2 weeks up of schedule.

Yes, it's a smaller venue than they occupied successful Kingston, but bash you cognize what other it is?

It's a start.