Day 1 at the Grand Slam Track opener in Kingston had a bit of everything: Gabby Thomas doing what he does best in 200m, Kenny Bednarek doing his things, and Christopher Bailey dropping the bomb in the 400m. But while the racing delivered, the vibe in the stadium was a mixed bag. The crowd was thin. The energy? Hit or miss – unless a Jamaican athlete was on the line. Then, it suddenly felt like a block party with a decent atmosphere!On the track, there were a few standout races. The men’s 100m? Classic USA vs. Jamaica fireworks. Kenny Bednarek edged Oblique Seville by just one-hundredth of a second. And over in the 400m, indoor world champ Christopher Bailey dropped a 44.34 bomb that left even Olympic silver medalist Matthew Hudson-Smith chasing. Then came Grant Fisher with the smoothest last-lap kick to steal the men’s 5,000m in style, leading a U.S. sweep. But it was Day 2 that served up platters of drama!

Right off the bat, Gabby Thomas was back again for the final race of Long Sprint Group and she wasn’t letting the moment slip away in the long sprint group! The women’s 400m was stacked, and Thomas was facing Salwa Eid Naser and Marileidy Paulino. You could feel it – three elite talents in one race, and something had to give. and there were other important storylines that had 1500m shenanigans, Bednarek doing Bednarek things.

Gabby Thomas and Kenny Bednarek win Grand Slam titles in short and long sprints

Atlanta-native who won 200m yesterday clocked a massive personal best of 49.14 seconds, holding off reigning Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino and finishing second only to Salwa Eid Naser, who ran a world-leading 48.67.

With a win in the 200m and a runner-up finish in the 400m, Gabby wrapped up her campaign with 20 points, enough to clinch the Grand Slam crown in her group! That score sealed her Grand Slam title—and yep, $100K in the bag!

Next up was Bednarek! And boy, was he was on fire! The double Olympic 200m silver medalist made it look effortless as he bagged the 100-200m double to take home the Grand Slam title in the short sprint group. On Friday, he had narrowly won the 100m by just 0.01 seconds.

Then, on Saturday, he cruised through the 200m in 20.07 seconds, beating Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (20.37) and Fred Kerley (20.39) with a commanding lead coming off the bend. With two wins, Bednarek racked up a perfect 24 points and … and a cool $100,000 prize! However, his fellow compatriot, Cole Hocker and Briton Josh Kerr fell short, in an unexpected twist.

Josh Kerr and Cole Hocker face an upset at Grand Slam Track

Who could have seen that coming?! Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi pulled off a stunning upset at the Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston on Saturday, beating all three Olympic 1500m medalists!

Wanyonyi, at just 20 years of age, stormed to victory in 3:35.18, outkicking the likes of Yared Nuguse, Cole Hocker, and Josh Kerr in the final stretch. Nuguse grabbed second, Hocker rallied for third, and Kerr, fading late, was pushed to fifth by fellow Brit Neil Gourley. What’s wild? Wanyonyi’s 1500m best before this was 3:43.19! But with 1:41.11 800m speed in his legs, he proved that you just can’t count him out.

In another talking point, Dylan Beard, the Walmart-working hurdler turned fan favorite, won the 110m hurdles in 13.29 seconds. In the women’s hurdles, Tia Jones added last-minute sprint, stole the show. Just a year after tearing her ACL, she took down Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Masai Russell, and Danielle Williams with a 12.63 win.

Meanwhile, Diribe Welteji flipped the script in the 1500m, beating Nikki Hiltz and grabbing the short distance Slam title with 20 points and $100K. Hiltz, who had a PB in the 800m, finished third overall.

And in the Men’s long sprints, Matthew Hudson-Smith bounced back from his 400m loss to Chris Bailey by winning the 200m and sealing the Slam title.