Miramar, Florida – Eight champions were crowned on the final day of the Miami Grand Slam Track meeting on Sunday, May 4, 2025.
Olympic silver medallist Bednarek, having sewn up the 100m on Saturday, returned to his 200m specialty to wrap up the sprint double. He wasted no time as he flew around the bend like a shot out of a cannon, passing Tokyo Olympic champion Andre de Grasse on his outside with consummate ease. As he transitioned into the home straight, the challenge appeared to his left from Jamaica’s Oblique Seville and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes. Bednarek powered away from them to cross the line in 19.84 seconds, the fastest time in the world.
“Running these fast times this early, doing it against this field and running comfortably just says that I am in excellent shape,” said Bednarek, who also won the Men’s Short Distance Race Group in Kingston last month. “I felt pretty good throughout the first race and second race. Everything felt smooth, felt easy, I’m in really good shape right now. This race was just to execute and dominate the field, and that’s what I did.”
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Hughes and Seville looked inseparable as they crossed the finish line together. Although they had identical times of 20.13, Hughes came out on the right side of the photo finish for second.
Paulino and dos Santos in smashing form
Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino set a national record in the 200m, 22.30 seconds (1.0 m/s), en route to the women’s Long Sprints title. The Olympic champion collected a maximum of 24 points, having dominated the 400m on Friday.
Marileidy Paulino
Alison dos Santos ran like a man on a mission in the 400m for the Long Hurdles championship decider. After coming off the top bend with a marginal lead, dos Santos was joined by Chris Robinson, who pushed him to a new personal best of 44.53 seconds. Robinson was second in 44.86. “I knew Chris was in good shape and he can finish pretty strong, so I didn’t want to give him any hope,” reasoned dos Santos.
In the women’s equivalent, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran a season’s best 49.69 to wrap up her second Grand Slam championship. “Just happy with where we’re at. I think it was a good progression from the first slam until now. It shows you what you have to work on, shows you where you’re at,” said McLaughlin-Levrone.
Sydney McLaughlin
Trey Cunningham, who came into Grand Slam Track as a challenger, capitalised on the opportunity. Cunningham, who equalled his PB in the 110m hurdles on Saturday, returned on Sunday to surprise the field in the 100m, clocking a lifetime best 10.17 seconds for the win.
“I sprint a lot at practice. I’ve ran a 150 at 14.7 before, which was like a month ago. I’ve done a lot of speed work, so I was prepared for this,” said Cunningham, the 2022 World silver medallist. “It’s just a different environment and atmosphere because I don’t have barriers in my way that can mess me up. I had a fumble 30 through 40 meters. I didn’t really transition appropriately, but I got a PB, so I’m excited.”
American Grant Fisher made light work of the 5000m field to be crowned the Long Distance champion. Fisher made a decisive move with four laps remaining, and no one could live with him. He had the luxury of slowing down and waving to the crowd in the final 100m as he came home in 13:40.32, almost six minutes ahead of compatriot Cooper Teare. “With four laps to go, you start thinking a little bit so I wanted to squeeze them hard,” Fisher explained. “I got some daylight and kept on the gas for quite a while. When we got to about 100 to go, I realised I had enough cushion that I could chill out that last 100.”
In the women’s 3000m, Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich captured the women’s Long Distance championship after another impressive display of tactical running. Ngetich, who won the 5000m on Friday, pushed the pace for long periods, trying to take the sting out of her opponents’ legs.
The race intensified with 250m to go when the Ethiopians made their move. First, Tsige Gebreselama swept into the lead. This triggered an immediate response from compatriots Medina Eisa and Hirut Meshesha, but Ngetich was hanging tough. Meshesha separated herself from the pack thanks to her foot speed to win in 8:22.72, a new PB with Eisa (8:23.08 PB) edging Ngetich (8:23.14 PB), who clinched the overall Grand Slam Track title ahead of Meshesha, who also tallied 18 points. The tiebreaker was decided by the athletes’ best combined times.
“I think in Kingston, it was the fastest event of the year, and I just opened the season, so I didn’t know where my body was on the track,” said Ngetich. “I went back and continued training and working for speed. I knew 3000m would be tough, so I wanted to be in the top three to secure the title. I am so happy that I won today at Grand Slam Track. I’m so excited. The track was tight, everyone was strong, and I thank God I managed to get the points here.”
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