Josh Kerr of Seattle's Brooks Beasts is the second racer to join Grand Slam Track...

LONDON--Grand Slam Track announced within the hour (9 am Pacific 6/27) that Josh Kerr (Paul Merca photo) of the Seattle based Brooks Beasts has signed as the tour's second racer.

In the release from the tour, Kerr, currently the world's number 3 runner according to the World Athletics rankings and has personal bests of 1:45.35 for 800, 3:29.05 for 1500, 3:45.34 at 1500, and 8:00.67 in the indoor two mile, joins 400 meter hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as its first racers when the tour opens next year.

In the GST format, each contracted racer will compete for a $100,000 first place prize in each of the four Grand Slam meets, with the key being a best combined score based on placing over two races in a three day period.

By signing the deal with GST, Kerr, the reigning world champion at 1500, is expected to appear in all four meets, with one of the US meets contested in Los Angeles.

“I am excited to announce Josh Kerr as a GST Racer, and add such a talented competitor to our roster,” said Michael Johnson, the league’s founder and commissioner in a release from the tour. “Josh will show the world his incredible speed at the Olympics this summer, but we already know he is one of the fastest men on this planet. We want to have a diverse, international roster of talent for our four Slams, and having Josh on board is a hugely important announcement for our league.”

“Making this announcement today is incredibly exciting for me,” said Kerr. “Grand Slam Track is the future for this sport and I’m buzzing to be the first British Racer signed to the league. Getting to work with Michael, a great of the sport, is awesome. He wants to shake things up and change this game for the better. He has put us athletes at the forefront of all his decisions in creating the league. I can’t wait to get racing in the Slams and to put on a performance for all track fans around the world. I look forward to facing the best in the world four times a year.”

Kerr, who is scheduled to run the 800 this weekend at the British Championships in Manchester, is arguably one of the favorites in the men's 1500 meters when the Olympic track & field competition rolls around next month.

The premise of Grand Slam Track is head-to-head racing.

Like McLaughlin-Levrone, the GST Racers sign a contract with the league to run in all four meets. They get access to the GST content and data services team, inclusion in the league collective, group licensing and new revenue opportunities, plus access to world class athlete support services throughout the season.

There are six event groups that will compete in each meet: Short Sprints (100/200); Short Hurdles (100/110H & 100 flat); Long Sprints (200/400); Long Hurdles (400H/400 flat); Short Distance (800/1500) and Long Distance (3000/5000).

In each of the four meets, the racers get points based on their finish place with 10 for first place, followed by 8-6-5-4-3-2-1. The racer who picks up the most points after completion of both events wins that Slam meet, which pays $100,000 all the way down to $10,000 for eighth place.

Kerr will most likely race in the short distance (800/1500) category.

Here's the link to our piece on Grand Slam Track, and here's the link introducing Kerr as the tour's newest racer.

NOTE: Grand Slam Track contributed to this report.

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