Jamaican athletes earned a combined US$475,000 ($75 million) at the inaugural staging of Grand Slam Track, which took place at the National Stadium between last Friday and Sunday.

Sprint hurdler Danielle Williams earned the biggest payday after winning the Women’s Short Hurdles category and pocketing US$100,000 ($15.7 million) for her efforts.

Williams, who was entered as a ‘challenger’ – meaning she is not contracted to feature at all four Grand Slam Track meets, ran second in the 100m Hurdles in 12.70 seconds on Saturday and returned to take the win in the flat 100m in 11.54, to tally 20 points.

“To be honest I didn’t really think about the money like that, I tried to focus on the things that I can control and that is my run, my race, but it’s a cool concept and it’s good to know that you can walk away with so much money,” said Williams.

“We deserve it, we train probably as hard and maybe even harder than any other sport, just for 12 seconds and you can’t get it back, so I am definitely pleased with that,” she added.

It’s left to be seen if Williams will sign on for other stops in the series with the event moving to Miami (May 2-4), Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29) in the coming months.

Roshawn Clarke was the second-highest-paid Jamaican at the meet after earning a second-place finish in the Men’s Long Hurdles category, which earned him US$50,000 ($7.9 million) after his second-place run in the 400m Hurdles and fourth-place effort in the 400m, which gave him 13 points.

Andrenette Knight, who featured in the Women’s Long Hurdles and Men’s Short Sprints competitor Oblique Seville and Ackera Nugent, who also competed in the Women’s Short Hurdles, all walked away with US$30,000 ($4.7 million) after finishing third in their respective categories.

Nugent finished fourth in the 110m Hurdles and second in the 100m for a combined 13 points. Knight, meanwhile, was fourth in the women’s 400m Hurdles and second in the flat one-lap event, bringing her points tally to 13 as well.

Seville, ran second in the 100m and had to settle for fifth in the 200m in his Short Sprints category.

Kemba Nelson and Shiann Salmon both finished fourth in their respective categories, taking home US$25,000 ($3.9 million) in the process.

Nelson, competing in the women’s Short Sprints, was fifth in the 100m and fourth in the 200m, tallying nine points, while Salmon, who featured in the Women’s Long Hurdles, was sixth in her 400m Hurdles assignment and fourth in the 400m, for a combined points total of eight.

Earning US$20,000 ($3.1 million) each were Ackeem Blake and Deandre Watkins, who competed in the Men’s Short Sprints and Long Sprints, respectively, finishing in fifth place in their categories.

Blake finished fourth in his 100m race and was seventh in the 200m for a total of seven points, while Watkins was seventh and third in his 400m and 200m runs, earning eight points over the weekend.

Three Jamaicans finished sixth in their categories, earning US$15,000 ($2.4 million).

Staceyann Williams had to settle for seventh in the 200m and was fifth in her 400m pet event for a combined six points in the Women’s Long Sprints category.

Competing in the Women’s Short Sprints, Alana Reid, also tallied six points, after sixth-place finishes in both the 100m and 200m, while Rushell Clayton’s weekend got off to a positive start with a third-place finish in the 400m Hurdles but suffered an injury in the 400m and was not able to finish the race.

Seventh-place finishers in each race category walked away with US$12,500 ($1.9 million) with Jamaicans Jodean Williams (Women’s Short Sprints), Natoya Goule (Women’s Short Distance), Omar McLeod (Men’s Short Hurdles) and Assinie Wilson (Men’s Long Hurdles) all finishing in that position.

Nikisha Pryce (Women’s Long Sprints), Zandrion Barnes (Men’s Long Sprints) and Orlando Bennett (Men’s Short Hurldes) all finished eighth in their respective categories, which was good enough for a US$10,000 (1.5 million) take home.

— Andre Lowe