In his third-ever 1,500-metre race, Canada’s Marco Arop finished seventh on Friday in Miramar, Fla., in the second leg of the Grand Slam Track meet.
Great Britain’s Josh Kerr wins in 3:34.51CBC Sports
· Posted: May 02, 2025 11:49 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
Marco Arop was competing in only his third 1,500 metres of his career. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)In his third-ever 1,500-metre race, Canada’s Marco Arop finished seventh on Friday in Miramar, Fla., in the second leg of the Grand Slam Track meet.
Arop crossed the line in a time of three minutes 35.95 seconds.
Great Britain’s Josh Kerr won in 3:54.51, followed by Americans Yared Nuguse (3:34.65) and Cole Hocker (3:34.79).
At the inaugural Slam last month in Jamaica, Arop won the 800m and placed sixth out of eight in the 1,500m — a distance he’d raced just twice before in his career — to finish second in the men’s short distance.
Group winner Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, who beat Arop for the 800m gold at the Paris Olympics, is not competing this week.
Andre De Grasse and Jerome Blake are making their Grand Slam debuts over the weekend. Their rivals in the men’s short sprints include American star Kenny Bednarek, the back-to-back Olympic 200m silver medallist who won the group in Jamaica.
The 100m race is on Saturday at 6:53 p.m. ET and the 200 goes Sunday at 5:21 p.m. ET to close out the meet. All events will be live streamed on CBCSports.ca.
American star arrestedTwice Olympic 100 metres medallist Fred Kerley has been arrested and will not compete in Grand Slam Track’s inaugural U.S.-based event in Miami this weekend, the circuit said on Friday.
Kerley, who won a bronze medal in the 100m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics and silver in the same distance at the 2020 Tokyo Games, was scheduled to compete in the 100m on Saturday and 200m on Sunday.
“Fred Kerley was arrested last night. The matter is under active investigation, and all inquiries should be directed to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office,” Grand Slam Track said in a statement. “Fred will not compete this weekend. We have no further comment at this time.”
Reuters has contacted Kerley’s representative for comment. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately provide details on Kerley’s arrest when contacted by Reuters.
American sprinter Fred Kerley was arrested in Miami following an altercation at a hotel. (Associated Press)According to media reports, the 29-year-old Kerley was charged with touch or strike battery following an altercation at the meet hotel and there was no timeline for his release.
Kerley competed in Grand Slam Track’s inaugural meet last month in Kingston, Jamaica.
Grand Slam Track, which will hold four meets in 2025, was created by four-times Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson.
The circuit is a direct challenge to the Diamond League, long the standard-bearer for the sport worldwide, which hosts 15 meetings each year in cities from Xiamen to Zurich.
With files from Reuters
