Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Mary Moraa & Agnes Ngetich lead Kenyans in hunt for Grand Slam Track millions in Kingston

Kenyan athletes are among top track stars set to contest the Ksh13 million winners prize that is on offer at the inaugural which guns off at in Kingston, Jamaica on Friday.

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will have 48 challengers and 48 racers competing for the largest prize purse ever distributed in an athletic event in history being $12.6 million with winners of each race set to pocket $100,000 (Ksh13 million).

Kingston is the first stop in the four-leg event that will also take place in Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles and will have eight competitors in each of the 12 groups of events.

Six Kenyan athletes, namely; the Olympics 800m champion,, Susan Ejore, Ronaldo Kwemoi, Agnes Jebet Ngetich and Hellen Ekalale Lobun will be among those contesting for glory at Grand Slam Track.

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Each of them will feature in two races at the three-day event in Kingston, Jamaica.

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Which Kenyans are running on Day 1?

First up will be Moraa and Ejore who will fight it out in the women’s 800m, categorized under Short Distance at Grand Slam Track, and they have a tough task as they come up against some familiar opponents.

There is competition from Americans Heather Maclean, Nikki Hiltz, Sage Hurta-Klecker as well as Ethiopian Diribe Welteji, fan favourite Natoya Goule-Toppin of Jamaica and Australian Jessica Hull.

That will give way to the women’s 3,000m, categorized under Women’s Long Distance, and Kenyan athletes in this race are Agnes Jebet Ngetich, the world 10k record holder, as well as Hellen Ekalale Lobun, who comes into the race after securing victory on her 10k debut in Valencia in January.

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The Kenyan duo are up against Americans Elise Cranny, Whittni Morgan and Emily Infeld as well as Ethiopian duo Ejgayehu Taye and Tsigie Gebreselama. Japanese runner Nozomi Tanaka is also in the race which the Kenyan duo look favourites to win.

Completing the Day 1 roster from Kenya will be Olympics 5,000m silver medalist Ronaldo Kwemoi who will contest the men’s 5,000m, categorized under Men’s Long Distance.

Kwemoi has , former world 5,000m silver medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet from Ethiopia, his compatriot Telahun Haile Bekele for company, as well as Americans Dylan Jacobs, Cooper Teare and Burundian-born Spaniard Thierry Ndikumwenayo.

Top races on Day 2 at Grand Slam Track

All those three races will be part of the programme on Friday, April 4 before action moves to Saturday where more Kenyans will be in action.

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Among the Kenyans contesting for victory on Day 2 are Moraa and Ejore again, this time in the women’s 1,500m, also categorized under Women’s Short Distance.

The two Kenyans will face the very opponents they would have taken on in the 800m with their race, giving way to the men’s 1,500m that is set to be one of the

Wanyonyi will come up against his bitter rival Marco Arop, the man who beat him to gold at the 2023 World Championships, before he stunned him to claim the Olympics title in Paris last year.

Also in the race are Americans Cole Hocker, who won a surprise Olympics gold over the distance in Paris last year, Yared Nuguse, who was third in the race and Britain’s Josh Kerr, the Olympics 1,500m silver medalist.

Others are American Bryce Hoppel, Britain’s Neil Gourley, and Mohamed Attaoui from Spain.

On the final day on Sunday April 6, all the six Kenyan athletes will be in action with Ngetich and Lobun facing off with the same opponents, this time in the women’s 5,000m, the same for Wanyonyi in his specialty 800m, while Kwemoi will also take on similar rivals in the men’s 3,000m.