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31 May, 2025

By Grand Slam Track

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Third Slam of the 2025 season kicks off with historic day one.

PHILADELPHIA – May 31, 2025 – Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ran a personal best to take down the world champion in the 200m, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lost her first race in nearly two years, and unsponsored Jamal Britt defeated the fastest 110m hurdler in the world this year. Grand Slam Track Philadelphia day one brought facility records in all eleven events, providing a historic experience for the thousands of fans who filled iconic Franklin Field on Saturday.

Jefferson-Wooden looked unbeatable in the women’s 200m. The two-time Slam Champion in the Women’s Short Sprints shot out of the blocks and never looked back, breaking 22 seconds for the first time in her career with her winning time of 21.99. Gabby Thomas, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the event who defeated Jefferson-Wooden in the 200m at the Miami Slam, finished second in 22.10.

“I've been working on this ever since Miami. You know, obviously I came up short, got third place [there],” said Jefferson-Wooden who has now won four of her five Grand Slam races so far this season. “I knew if I wanted to win, I had to get out, get in front, and I controlled the race and let them come get me. And that's what I did.”

The men’s 110m hurdles also ended with an upset. In a photo finish, Jamal Britt defeated Cordell Tinch, the fourth fastest man of all time in the 110m hurdles, by two one-hundredths of a second. Britt’s winning time of 13.08 tied his personal best.

“With us, anything can happen,” said Britt, who has already raced more than three dozen times in 2025. “I would say this is the best generation of hurdlers, and I'm happy that I'm in it.”

The most anticipated race of the day featured 400m hurdles world record holder and world champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dropping down to the 100m hurdles. And while all eyes were on McLaughlin-Levrone, it was defending Slam Champion Ackera Nugent who showed the fans that this event belongs to her. Nugent won in 12.44, just edging out Tia Jones (12.60). McLaughlin-Levrone finished fifth in 12.70. It was her first loss in an individual race since June of 2023.

“I wished I could remove myself from my body and watch the race, but it's just like, no, I gotta focus,” said Nugent, who is a fan of McLaughlin-Levrone. “She's very competitive no matter what she does. I had to turn my excitement off, and I just had to lock myself into space.”

“It felt really good, felt fun, felt fast,” said McLaughlin-Levrone of her first 100m hurdles race of 2025. “But I think the hurdle technique and just how quick they were coming up on me, I had to make some adjustments.”

Tomorrow, McLaughlin-Levrone will race the first 100m of her professional career.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s specialty event, the 400m hurdles, was won by the woman who took second to her at last year’s Olympics. Making her Grand Slam debut, Anna Cockrell came out of lane eight and ran away from the field, winning in 54.04, more than half a second ahead of Jasmine Jones (54.65).

“It’s a historic venue,” said Cockrell, who was competing at Franklin Field for the first time since high school. “It’s so fun running in front of a really, really engaged crowd. I mean, the second we walked out they were excited.”

It seems no one can beat “Kung-Fu” Kenny in the Men’s Short Sprints. Kenny Bednarek made winning the men’s 200m look easy in his time of 19.95, defeating Zharnel Hughes (20.50) by more than half a second. Bednarek has yet to lose a Grand Slam Track race in 2025.

Neither has Alison dos Santos in the Men’s Long Hurdles, but he came close in the 400m hurdles today. Dos Santos held off Trevor Bassitt, running 48.11 and winning by just over one-tenth of a second.

Marco Arop remains undefeated in the 800m in Grand Slam Track events. Despite new Challengers such as the reigning World Indoor Champion Josh Hoey and Olympic semi-finalist Hobbs Kessler, Arop won with enough time to celebrate before breaking the tape, running a season’s best time of 1:43.38.

“I know I’ve got a target on my back,” said Arop. “In the 1500m I know those guys are going to come prepared tomorrow and try their best not to let me win so I’m going to have to try to step it up there.”

Marileidy Paulino continued her hot streak in the Women’s Long Sprints Race Group. Paulino, who swept the Race Group in Miami, ran a season’s best time of 49.12 to win the 400m today. With two Slams already under her belt, Paulino said she was happy to get the longer of her two races out of the way on day one.

“I prefer the 400 first. And then the 200, which is pretty much the way it's set up here,” said Paulino, who set a Dominican National Record in the 200m in Miami earlier this month. “It obviously shows. It's working out well for me.”

Matthew Hudson-Smith has had an up-and-down Slam season in the Men’s Long Sprints, but today, the reigning Olympic silver medalist won a 400m for the first time this year and did so in convincing fashion. Running in lane seven, Hudson-Smith closed hard to run 44.51, and said he enjoyed the Franklin Field experience.

“You’re running two races of high quality, back-to-back,” said Hudson-Smith. “[I’ve] never raced out here. It’s very nice, there’s a lot of history here so I was excited to race here.”

The four-minute barrier was broken in the women’s 1500m for the first time in Grand Slam Track history. Diribe Welteji overcame a hard charging Jessica Hall to run 3:58.04 and win by just three one-hundredths of a second.

It was another close finish in the women’s 3000m where Agnes Ngetich relied on her kick and was rewarded with a victory. Ngetich out-leaned Ejgayehu Taye to win 8:43.61 to 8:43.70.

“I’ve been working on speed,” said Ngetich, who holds the world record in the 10K road race. “I see it’s coming. Winning in Miami gave me that energy to push and we’re doing that towards the final Slam in LA.”

With the 3000m being the only event in the Women’s Long Distance, Ngetich wins the Slam Championship for the second consecutive Slam.

Flash Quotes can be found here. Full results can be found here. Tickets for Day Two can be purchased here.

Slam Day Two on Sunday will see eleven more Slam Champions crowned. Competition begins at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Reported by Jay Holder for Grand Slam Track