By Chris Chavez
December 10, 2024
Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet, who ran the second-fastest 5000m in history with a 12:36.72 in May, has signed on to join Grand Slam Track ahead of the professional track league’s inaugural season in 2025.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Gebrhiwet is the first Ethiopian athlete to sign with the league. He is the fourth and final Racer signed to the “long distance” group at the four Slams in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. The league previously announced its signing of 5000m and 10,000m Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher, 5000m Olympic silver medalist Ronald Kwemoi and two-time World Championship 5000m fourth place finisher Luis Grijalva to the group.
– Racers in the “long distance” category compete in the 3000m and 5000m over two days at each respective Slam. They will receive points for their finishing position in the two races. After the two events, the athlete with the highest point total will win the Slam and the $100,000 prize for first place.
– Gebrhiwet is coming off a year where he moved to No. 2 on the all-time 5000m list with a 12:36.73 at the Oslo Diamond League in May. The Ethiopian record holder went on to finish fifth at the Paris Olympics. Following the Games, he won the Rome Diamond League and then took second in the Diamond League final in Brussels.
– At 30 years old, he has been part of Ethiopia’s national team at seven of the last nine global championships. He made his first Olympic team at 18 years old in London in 2012. A year later, he earned his first medal with a World Championship silver in the 5000m behind Mo Farah. He added bronze medals in the 5000m at the 2015 World Championships and 2016 Rio Olympics.
What His Signing Means For The League
– At the recent global championships, Ethiopian athletes have been the ones to control and push the pace toward the front of the race. With no pacemakers in Grand Slam Track’s league structure and races in potentially warm locations like Kingston and Miami, Gebrhiwet could be the athlete to string out the field.
He has not raced a 3000m race since the 2019 indoor season. His personal best is 7:30.36 from the 2013 Doha Diamond League.
Gebrhiwet’s record on the track against other Racers in the league:
- 0-1 vs. Grant Fisher (Only meeting was the Paris Olympics 5000m final)
- 2–1 vs. Ronald Kwemoi (Kwemoi beat him at the Paris Olympics 5000m final but Gebrhiwet won in Rome and Brussels.)
- 1–1 vs. Luis Grijalva (Grijalva was sixth in 12:50.58 in Gebrhiwet’s Oslo victory. Grijalva beat Gebrhiwet by .15s at the World Championships in Budapest.)
– While the league landed the fastest 5000m runner of 2024 and two of the three members of the Olympic podium, Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigsten is not a Racer for the inaugural season. If he were to participate in Grand Slam Track, he would be a Challenger. The Norwegian star may focus on the Diamond League, where he’s won the last three 1500m titles, as he’s been vocal about his pursuit of Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:26.00 world record. In an episode of the Coffee Club Podcast, Olli Hoare said Ingebrigtsen told him, “As a European runner, for him, all these races are in Europe, all the big races are in Europe” so he would rather spend his time training than racing in North America.
If Ingebrigtsen is planning to race the Prefontaine Classic (as most Nike-contracted athletes do) on July 5th, the Los Angeles Slam on June 27-29th would be a possible option to enter as a Challenger.
Who Else Has Signed With Grand Slam Track So Far:
– Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (June 18th)
– Josh Kerr (June 27th)
– Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse (Sept. 4th)
– Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek (Sept. 12th)
– Melissa Jefferson (Sept. 19th)
– Masai Russell, Cyrena Samba Mayela and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Sept. 25th)
– Alison Dos Santos and Clément Ducos (Sept. 26th)
– Muzala Samukonga (Sept. 26th)
– Quincy Hall and Matthew Hudson-Smith (Oct. 10th)
– Nikki Hiltz (Oct. 15th)
– Grant Fisher and Ronald Kwemoi (Oct. 15th)
– Roshawn Clarke and Ackera Nugent (Oct. 17th)
– Luis Grijalva (Oct. 22nd)
– Shamier Little, Jasmine Jones and Rushell Clayton (Oct. 22nd)
– Jessica Hull (Oct. 22nd)
– Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts (Oct. 22nd)
– Marileidy Paulino (Oct. 22nd)
– Jereem Richards (Oct. 22nd)
– Marco Arop (Oct. 22nd)
– Tsigie Gebreselama and Agnes Ngetich (Oct. 22nd)
– Salwa Eid Naser (Nov. 21st)
– Elise Cranny and Nozomi Tanaka (Nov. 21st)
– Mary Moraa (Nov. 21st)
– Daryll Neita (Nov. 21st)
– Gabby Thomas (Nov. 26th)
– Alexis Holmes (Dec. 10th)
– Oblique Seville (Dec. 10th)
– Sasha Zhoya (Dec. 10th)
– Hagos Gebrhiwet (Dec. 10th)
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
