Brooks Beasts' Josh Kerr wins Short Distance Slam in Miami...

MIRAMAR, Florida--On day 2 of the Grand Slam Track/Miami stop, Josh Kerr (photo courtesy Grand Slam Track) of Seattle's Brooks Beasts, who won the 1500 Friday to take the lead with 12 points in the short distance (800/1500) category, declared on the GST pre-game show, "I will not be last in the 800," referencing to what happened last month in Kingston, Jamaica, where he was last.

True to his word, Kerr finished fifth in a personal best 1:45.01 to collect 4 points, as 2023 world 800 meter champion Marco Arop of Edmonton, Alberta won the race and the 12 points in 1:43.69.

Botwana's Kethobogile Haingura was second in a personal best 1:43.75, while Peter Bol of Australia was third in 1:44.13.

Yared Nuguse, who was second in the 1500 and needed to finish second or higher to win the two-day Miami Slam, finished fourth in 1:44.77, one spot ahead of Kerr's fifth place in 1:45.01.

Arop finished the two day 1500-800 Slam in second with 14 points to collect $50,000, while Kerr took the win and the $100,000 first place prize with 16 points in finishing fifth.

Courtesy of Grand Slam Track, here's video of the race:

After the race, Kerr, who came to Miramar still stinging after his performance in Jamaica, said, "We went home and analyzed what happened and we changed a lot of things. I've got to give thanks to my coach Danny (Mackey, head coach of the Brooks Beasts) for making sure the training was consistent so I could go out here and perform."

When asked what he changed, Kerr, who was one of the first athletes to sign with Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track, essentially said that while he was fit going into Kingston despite losing a few weeks of training because of an injury over the winter, he wasn't mentally prepared to race.

Washington State alum Maribel Caicedo finished up her weekend with a personal best in the 100 meters.

Caicedo, who was a challenger in the short hurdles category, followed up her seventh place finish in Friday's 100 hurdles with a fifth place finish in the 100 dash, running 11.47 to get 4 points to add to the point in yesterday's race.

The Ecuadorian Olympian finished sixth overall in the two days of competition to take home $15,000 in the short hurdles category.

Ackera Nugent of Jamaica, who finished third in Friday's 100 hurdles, won the 100 and the 12 points that went with the win.

By winning the 100, combined with hurdles winner Masai Russell's fourth place finish, Nugent won the short hurdles category by an 18-17 margin over Russell, and the $100,000 first place prize. Russell walked away with $50,000 for her two days of racing.

The Miami stop of Grand Slam Track concludes Sunday, however no athletes with Washington ties are competing in the meet's final day.

Results of the Miami stop of Grand Slam Track are available here.

At the Wanda Diamond League stop in Shanghai/Keqiao, China Saturday, Washington State alum CJ Allen finished sixth in the 400 hurdles.

Allen ran 49.24, as reigning world champion Karsten Warholm of Norway won the race in a 2025 world leading time of 47.28.

Courtesy of the Wanda Diamond League, here's a replay of the race. Note that Allen is positioned in lane 3.

In the only other event involving an athlete with Washington ties, Washington alum Brian Fay finished tenth in the 5000 meters in a season best 13:12.10

Ethiopia's Behiru Aregawi won in a meet record 12:50.45.

The next meet in the Wanda Diamond League series happens on May 16th in Doha, Qatar.

Complete results of the Wanda Diamond League stop in Shanghai/Keqiao are available here (select Shanghai in drop-down menu).

NOTE: Grand Slam Track and the Wanda Diamond League contributed to this report.

paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links. You can also support the site by clicking the yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link below.