Kerr, Hocker, and Nuguse will be part of the “short distance” category, which contests the 800m and 1500m. CITIUS MAG has confirmed that any of the three will also be able to move up on special occasions to the “long distance” category – which contests the 3000m and 5000m – for any of the Slams. At CITIUS MAG, we’ve started dubbing athletes with category versatility as ‘unicorns.’

Kerr, as the reigning World Indoor champion at 3000m and indoor two-mile world record holder, would be a formidable Racer in the long distance group. The same goes for Nuguse as the World 3000m Indoor silver medalist and Hocker, who boasts personal bests of 7:35.35 for 3000m, 8:05.70 for two miles, and 12:58.82 for 5000m.

As the 2024 outdoor track and field season comes to a close, we’ll be analyzing and projecting possible Racer candidates for Grand Slam Track’s inaugural season.

When asked at the Zurich Diamond League press conference on who Kerr, Hocker and Nuguse want to see as the fourth Racer, here's how they responded:

Nuguse: "I kind of want an 800m runner. If it's going to be 1500m/800m, then the 800m is going to be half of it. I think 800m runners can run a faster 1500m than they give themselves credit for – especially in a non-paced race. I don't know who exactly but a high level 800m runner."

Hocker: "I think the people want Jakob but I guess he's probably more of a 3K/5K (Racer). Whoever would want to hop in and is the best 1500m/800m guy."

Kerr: "I'm excited. Head-to-heads are what we love in the sport. It's why you guys are going to watch that 100m (between Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm). It's why you've got all four of here tonight. I think that's what's going to be very exciting four times a year. I wouldn't say we have the strongest 800m between the three of us. I think it would be nice to get a 1:41/1:42 guy in there. For some reason, there seems to be loads of those these days."

Presuming Kerr, Hocker, and Nuguse will be the three main Racers in the 800/1500m category, we decided to make the case for who should be the fourth and final Racer:

Jakob Ingebrigtsen (1:46.44 PB for 800m | 3:26.73 PB for 1500m)

The Case For:

This would likely be most people’s first pick. It would mean Grand Slam Track has the top four finishers from the historic men’s 1500m at the Paris Olympics and keeps Ingebrigtsen’s rivalry with Kerr alive in the lead-up to the Brit’s world championship title defense. Plus, if he wants to practice race tactics without rabbits or Wavelights, which could benefit him in Tokyo, then Grand Slam would be the place.

The Case Against:

There’s no doubt that Ingebrigtsen has a fast 800m in him but he has not run one since 2022 and his personal best remains 1:46.44. At the Zurich Diamond League pre-race press conference, he said he was not interested in running the 800m.

As we’ve seen some Diamond League 5000m and 3000m fields announced for Rome and Zurich, and especially after his 3000m world record in Silesia, one common sentiment has been, ‘I wish Jakob was in this race.’ Fans want to see him race the likes of Yomif Kejelcha, Berihu Aregawi, Grant Fisher, or Hagos Gebrhiwet (presuming some combination of them are signed as 3000m/5000m Racers).

Ingebrigtsen has won at least $150,000 in prize money from his victories in the 1500m or mile on the Diamond League circuit since 2022 so it’s hard to see him leaving that behind. The Diamond League, with its pacemakers and Wavelights, can continue to be his home to time trials in 2025. Whereas if he swept the 3000m/5000m category at GST, he could earn $400,000.

"Grand Slam and other potential concepts are happening in the sport for us athletes to grow and do what we love," Ingebrigtsen said in Zurich. "More racing and more opportunities is better but, with that being said, I think it's difficult to lock yourself to one or the other. I think it's going to be exciting to see but more races in general is a very good thing."

Emmanuel Wanyonyi (1:41.11 PB for 800m | 3:43.19A PB for 1500m)

The Case For

If you want to put the best of the best against one another, you have the reigning Olympic champion in the 1500m and you can have him race the Olympic champion in the 800m. Wanyonyi’s run 1:41 four times this season and has only been beaten twice. He would add intrigue to the Grand Slam weekend of racing because if you have him winning the 800m on the first day of racing (presuming it’s 800m first and then 1500m), that’s worth 10 points and we’d have an idea of where everyone else would need to finish and who they would have to beat to take the Slam title. If Wanyonyi makes it a 1:42 race and drags the rest of the field to a fast time, how will that effort impact the athletes’ ability to recover and then try to outrun him in the 1500m?

For those concerned about his prowess over the longer distance, up until this past weekend, he was the road mile world record holder with a 3:54.56 personal best.

The Case Against

He has only ever run one 1500m race in his career, which was a 3:43.19 at altitude in Nairobi in March 2022. But that’s certainly not reflective of what he could run in an actual 1500m race.

Timothy Cheruiyot (1:43.11 PB for 800m | 3:28.28 PB for 1500m)

The Case For

Cheruiyot is one of the most consistent 1500m runners of the past two Olympic cycles. He is the 2019 World champion, a two-time World Championship silver medalist, and has made five of the last six global championship finals. At this year’s Olympic Games, he bridged the gap between the field and Ingebrigtsen’s hot pace in the 1500m final but faded badly to 11th place. He ran a season’s best of 3:28.71 for 1500m at the Monaco Diamond League and also clocked a 1:45.65 at altitude for 800m for third place at the Kenyan Olympic Trials.

The Case Against

Cheruiyot may just end up being a Challenger at most of these races due to the fact that while he’s still good, there’s a few other guys who have surpassed him on the pecking order of the 1500m. If this league was coming about in 2020, Cheruiyot is a no-brainer.

Djamel Sedjati (1:41.46 PB for 800m | No PB for 1500m)

The Case For

Sedjati has established himself as one of the strongest 800m runners in the world with three 1:41 performances in 2024 and coming away with the Olympic bronze medal in Paris. He would add intrigue to the collection of Racers because he doesn’t have a 1500m personal best. Similar to Wanyonyi, he would shake up the point standings.

The Case Against

As we just mentioned, he has no experience running the 1500m. His longest personal best is 2:13.97 at altitude for 1000m from March.

Marco Arop (1:41.20 PB for 800m | 3:38.36 PB for 1500m)

The Case For

Arop is the reigning 800m World Champion, Olympic silver medalist and 2022 World Championship bronze medalist. At just 25 years old, he’s already run 1:41.20 for the North American and Canadian records and he’s dabbled with the 1500m previously, with a 3:38.36 personal best from 2023. Earlier this year, he ran a North American record of 2:14.74 for 1000m indoors.

The Case Against

Aside from early-season tune-ups to build strength, Arop’s 1500m potential still hasn’t been shown as much.

Hobbs Kessler (1:43.64 PB for 800m | 3:29.45 PB for 1500m)

The Case For

At the Paris Olympics, Kessler became the first American man since Rick Wohlhuter in 1976 to run the 800m and 1500m at the same Olympics. He is the only man in the world to make the Olympic semifinal in both events. Kessler was bounced in the 800m semis but it came days after he finished 5th in the Olympic 1500m final (where three of the men ahead of him are now Racers).

The Case Against

Is it too much for the 800m/1500m category to be 3/4ths American? It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that if the roles were reversed in the Olympic final and Kessler finished third and Nuguse was fifth, they’d swap positions as Racer and possible Challenger.

Bryce Hoppel (1:41.67 PB for 800m | 3:42.62 for 1500m)