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Former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin has shared a key element of Grand Slam Track that makes the Michael Johnson League special following Masai Russell's setback despite dominant display.
American sprint legend Justin Gatlin has hailed Grand Slam Track's key element following Masai Russell's setback despite a dominant display at the Miami Slam.
The Michael Johnson–founded league headed to Miami following the inaugural Slam in Kingston in April.
Russell made her debut at the Miami Slam, becoming a victim of the points system despite running the second-fastest 100m hurdles ever.
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"I love the Grand Slam Track concept because it has so many layers to it, right? I mean, you look at Masai breaking the American record, but then at the same time Ackera Nugent wins the $100,000," said Gatlin in a recent episode of The Ready Set Go Podcast.
Russell, who competed in the 100m hurdles and the 100m flat sprint, ran a blistering 12.17 seconds to claim victory ahead of Tia Jones and Ackera Nugent, who placed second and first respectively.
The time marked a new American national record and the second-fastest ever, behind Nigeria's Tobi Amusan's 12.12.
However, her 11.40 in the 100m flat sprint, which saw her place fourth, caused her to miss out on the $100,000 grand prize for the Champions, which instead went to Nugent.
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Strategy Over Speed: The Grand Slam Element
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Gatlin argued that this element is what makes Grand Slam Track so special.
"Now you're taking away the fact of—it’s not just about you being fast, it’s about you being strategic. Because you're running the 100 hurdles and you're running the 100. Where's your placement going to be, you know?" said the former world champion.
"Masai and Tia came across the line and all the attention was on them because of them running 12.17 and 12.19. No one was even checking for Nugent. And then that’s when I realized when the gun went off in the 100 meters, and Nugent put them lemon pepper steppers on and ran 11.09 and crossed that line—and the numbers start adding up. I'm 100K richer now," he added.
"And that's the element of Grand Slam. We always watch traditional track races where the person who runs the most dominant race in the fastest time is the winner."
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Even Olympic champion Gabby Thomas has fallen victim to this system, missing out on the grand prize in Miami despite winning the 200m, having claimed the same prize in Kingston.
However, for Gatlin, it is this element that makes Michael Johnson's league uniquely special.
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