Great Britain’s Daryll Neita is the first female British athlete to join Michael Johnson’s new sports league.
With an accumulated amount of $100,000 (£78,683) as top prize, the Grand Slam Track, which was introduced by American superstar Michael Johnson in June, seeks to unite the best runners in the globe. Starting April 2025, a prize fund of $12.6 million (£9.9 million) will be distributed among four events in the competition’s new format.
Neita, who was part of the GB 4x100m relay team that won silver at the Paris Olympics, is one of the competitors confirmed for the race, along with 1500-metre runner Josh Kerr and 400-metre star Matthew Hudson-Smith, who also both won silver in the last Summer Games.
Moreover, two other contenders, Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, a former world champion who won 400m silver in Paris, and Mary Moraa, the 800m world champion and Olympic bronze medallist from Kenya, will also compete alongside Neita.
Neita said: “I’m really excited to be the first British woman announced as joining the Grand Slam Track, and can’t wait to start racing in this fresh new league.”
She added: “I love the concept and getting to race twice in a weekend is fun and exciting for all of us as racers. It’s an amazing opportunity to compete at the highest level in a whole new format that’s going to bring a lot of energy to the sport.”
The Grand Slam track has four events annually– two will happen in the United States. Athletes who joined will compete in two events each and 48 of them will be contracted to the league.
Source: BBC