Melissa Jefferson

The first-ever Grand Slam Track event in Kingston is in the books and twelve athletes are walking away $100,000 richer. That’s $1.2 million in prize money handed out across one weekend.

The weekend closed the way it began: with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone doing Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone things — cruising to a 50.32 in the 400, winning her race group, and reminding the world why she’s the face of this sport. First signee. Final champion. Signature Sydney.

Grant Fisher snuck into Slam Champion status with a gritty 3rd in the 3k after winning the 5k on Friday — edging Hagos Gebrhiwet by a single point. Sasha Zhoya won the men’s short hurdles group by winning the 100 flat — proving that versatility, not just velocity is the new currency for the big money.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden doubled up in the sprints. Emmanuel Wanyonyi did just enough to hold off Marco Arop in the standings. Ejgayehu Taye ran 14:54 to sweep her distance group. And Alison dos Santos? Leaned like his life depended on it to close a 400m thriller by two hundredths.

Oh — and Jamaica got its moment too. Danielle Williams, world champ turned home crowd hero, claimed her slam title in the short hurdles with a win in the flat 100. First Jamaican Slam Champion. First Challenger to knock out the Racers. Crowd went bananas.

Every race meant something. Every move on the track changed the leaderboard. And from the pacing to the prize money, it actually felt like a sport you could follow.

Next stop? Miami, May 2–4. New city. New matchups. Same $100K at the finish line.

Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia review the second season of the Netflix documentary series, SPRINT. We share our thoughts and analysis on all four episodes and break down the top storylines throughout the season. You can listen to our review of the first season of SPRINT here.

Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram + Preet Majithia | @prm_32 on X

Time stamps:

1:22 - Season 2 overview: cast, notable athletes missing 

3:42 - Season 1 highlights 

Episode 1: ALL AMERICAN

5:32 - Noah Lyles

10:21 - Fred Kerley

13:10 - Christian Coleman 

15:40 - Gabby Thomas, Dennis Mitchell’s pro group 

17:57 - Little focus on athletes’ personalities outside of track 

19:48 - Highlights of episode 1

Episode 2: CHANGING OF THE GUARD

20:35 - Jamaican storylines

22:23 - Kishane Thompson, Oblique Seville 

25:53 - Shericka Jackson 

31:27 - Julien Alfred

Episode 3: GOING FOR GOLD: PART 1

33:45 - Series shifts to the Olympics

37:00 - Marcell Jacobs 

39:01 - Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson, TeeTee Terry  

44:10 - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

48:17 - Shericka Jackson 

50:24 - Julien Alfred

Episode 4: GOING FOR GOLD: PART 2

56:32 - Men’s 100m final 

1:02:19 - Kenny Bednarek

1:03:50 - Letsile Tebogo

1:05:10 - Men’s 200m: Noah Lyles getting COVID

1:08:36 - Women’s 200m: Gabby Thomas, Julien Alfred

1:11:32 - How the series ends + U.S. men’s 4x100m relay

Final takeaways:

1:14:39 - Parting thoughts and final rating 

1:17:53 - What comes next + will there be a Season 3? 

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Day 8 of track and field at the Paris Olympics featured a full slate of finals! Rai Benjamin clinched his long-awaited Olympic gold in the 400m hurdles, Sha’Carri Richardson anchored Team USA to victory in the 4x100m relay, and Nafi Thiam triumphed as a three-time defending Olympic champion, among other standout moments. In the eighth edition of Torch Talk, the team dives into all the highlights from the day...

– Rai Benjamin won his first global gold medal in the 400m hurdles, taking the Olympic title in 46.46. World record holder Karsten Warholm won silver and Alison Dos Santos won bronze.

– Sha'Carri Richardson anchored the U.S. women's 4x100m team to Olympic gold in 41.78. She did so with teammates Melissa Jefferson, TeeTee Terry, and Gabby Thomas. Team GB took silver and Germany won bronze.

– Beatrice Chebet completed the 5000m-10,000m double, winning the 10K in 30:43.25. Nadia Battocletti took silver and broke her second Italian record of the Games and Sifan Hassan won bronze.

– Nafi Thiam became the first multi-athlete in history to win three straight Olympic golds with her heptathlon title. Katarina Johnson-Thompson won silver and Noor Vidts won bronze.

– Marileidy Paulino became the 4th-fastest woman ever, winning Olympic gold in the process with her 400m time of 48.17. Salwa Eid Naser won the silver medal, and Natalia Kaczmarek won bronze in the quickest 3rd-place finish ever.

– Team Canada won the men's 4x100m relay gold, ahead of South Africa with silver and Team GB with bronze. Team USA was disqualified once again after an illegal first handoff.

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HOSTS:

Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Mac Fleet | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@macfleet on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Mitch Dyer | ⁠@metchosketch on Instagram⁠

Eric Jenkins | @_ericjenkins on Instagram

Aisha Praught Leer | @aishapraughtleer on Instagram

Katelyn Hutchison | @_kxnaomi on Instagram

We’re excited to have a full CITIUS MAG team on the ground in Paris providing daily live shows before and after the action, including interviews with competing athletes, our TORCH TALK recap show, and the return of GOOD MORNING TRACK AND FIELD.

Make sure you’re subscribed to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel for live shows, and subscribe (and share with your friends!) to the CITIUS MAG newsletter for daily newsletters in your inbox after every day of track and field competition.

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Day 2 of track and field at the Paris Olympics delivered unforgettable moments, surprises, and  historic achievements. Some of the day’s top highlights include: 

– Ryan Crouser made history with his third consecutive shot put gold, while U.S. teammate Joe Kovacs secured silver for the third time. 

– Julien Alfred came out on top over Sha'Carri Richardson in the women’s 100m final, earning St. Lucia its first Olympic medal. 

– The Netherlands triumphed in the mixed 4x400m relay over Team USA, with Femke Bol running an anchor leg of 47.93.

– Norway’s Markus Rooth claimed his country’s first decathlon gold.

– Dominica’s Thea LaFond won triple jump gold, with Jasmine Moore adding a bronze for the U.S. 

– In the men’s 100m, Noah Lyles advanced to the semifinals, joining Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley, alongside defending champion Marcell Jacobs and Kishane Thompson.

+ quick thoughts on the men's 1500m semifinal heat draws.

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HOSTS:

Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Mac Fleet | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@macfleet on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Mitch Dyer | ⁠@metchosketch on Instagram⁠

Eric Jenkins | @_ericjenkins on Instagram

Karen Lesiewicz | @kare_les on Instagram

Katelyn Hutchison | @_kxnaomi on Instagram

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