Clayton touts ‘amazing’ Grand Slam Track series, prize money on offer
Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton was beaming from ear to ear when she addressed the media on the eve of the start of the inaugural Grand Slam Track series here in Kingston.
Clayton will be competing in the 400m hurdles on Friday night before engaging her competitors in the flat 400m on Sunday.
At the end of the four-meet Grand Slam series, the winners will be determined by the points they accumulated.
There will be a total of US$12.5 million in prize monies up for grabs, with the winners pocketing US$100,000 and the other competitors collecting varying amounts trickling down to US$10,000 for the eighth-placed finisher.
The 32-year-old Clayton, who was seated beside two 400m hurdles greats in former world record holder Dalilah Muhammed and current record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, touted the prize money on offer.
“A hundred thousand dollars we’ve never gotten unless you were Dalilah and you broke the world record,” said Clayton, which drew a smile from Muhammed.
“That’s the only time we got a $100,000 in the hurdles or in any event at once,” she pointed out.
Clayton, who won bronze medals at the 2019 and 2023 world championships, is now one of the top 400m hurdlers in the world with a best time of 52.81.
Muhammed first broke the record in 2019, clocking 52.20, and did it again with 52.16 before Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone took charge, lowering the world record six times to 50.37.
Clayton will compete against both Muhammed and McLaughlin-Levrone in both the 400m hurdles and the 400m throughout the series.
“So, for it to be four slams, a $100,000 to win, that is truly amazing and I’m looking forward just to competing and seeing where I get from there,” Clayton added.
On Friday, the lane assignments for the 400m hurdles are:
2 Cassandra TATE – USA
3 Cathelijn PEETERS – NED – New Balance
4 Andrenette KNIGHT – JAM – Puma
5 Rushell CLAYTON – JAM – Puma
6 Sydney MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE – USA – New Balance
7 Shiann SALMON – JAM – Adidas
8 Dalilah MUHAMMAD – USA – Nike
On Sunday, the 400m lane assignments are:
2 Dalilah MUHAMMAD – USA – Nike
3 Cathelijn PEETERS – NED – New Balance
4 Shiann SALMON – JAM – Adidas
5 Sydney MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE – USA – New Balance
6 Rushell CLAYTON – JAM – Puma
7 Andrenette KNIGHT – JAM – Puma
8 Cassandra TATE – USA
– H.W
