France’s Sasha Zhoya, 2024 Diamond League champion in the 110mH, has signed with Grand Slam Track the league’s inaugural season in 2025.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Zhoya is the third French athlete to sign with Michael Johnson’s new league. All three of the French athletes, Zhoya, Cyréna Samba-Mayela, and Clément Ducos, are hurdlers.

– Zhoya is the third athlete to sign in the men’s “short hurdles” group. He is joined there by Olympic silver medalist Daniel Roberts and Devon Allen, the third-fastest man in 110mH history. Along with one more signed Racer and four rotating Challengers per slam, these men will race the 100m and 110mH across the three-day Slam.

– Racers will accrue points for their finishes in both races. The athlete with the highest point total will win the Slam and a $100,000 prize for first place.

– Zhoya dominated the youth and junior scene when he was younger, owning the world best in the U18 60mH and 110mH (91.4cm hurdle height) and the world junior records in the 60mH and 110mH (99.0cm). 2024 was a strong season for the young Frenchman, as he ran a new PB of 13.10 and capped the season off with a Diamond League crown. His Olympic debut didn’t go according to plan, as he just missed making the final, but he finished 6th in the world in Budapest last August at only 21 years old.

– Zhoya hasn’t raced a flat 100m since early 2021, but his PB of 10.41 comes from five days after he turned 17. Flat speed shouldn’t be an issue for him.

What his signing means for the league:

– There’s one remaining Racer slot in this group. The most obvious options for this final slot come down to Olympic and three-time World champion Grant Holloway (PBs of 10.21/12.81) and European champion Lorenzo Simonelli (PBs of 10.25/13.05).

– Of the three Racers already signed, Roberts projects to have a slight edge in the 110mH. Allen has the better PB, but he hasn’t raced in nearly a year-and-a-half and is coming off an ACL injury suffered while a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Allen has the best flat speed in the field, owning a PB of 10.20 and having run a windy 10.12 in 2022.

Zhoya’s head-to-head record against Roberts and Allen

• 3-4 vs. Roberts
• Zhoya has never raced Allen

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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