Paris 2024 Olympian Nelly Chepchirchir has set her sights on the inaugural Grand Slam Track Series in Kingston, Jamaica, from April 4-6 for a breakthrough 2025 season.
The high-stakes series features 48 elite athletes split into four races across six categories, with four additional competitors joining as Grand Slam Challengers.
Chepchirchir was named among the challengers alongside Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Hellen Ekalale.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s track powerhouses—world 800m champion Mary Moraa, world 10km record holder Agnes Ngetich and Olympic 5,000m silver medallist Ronald Kwemoi— headline the main Grand Slam roster.
Chepchirchir, 21, is entered in both the 800m and 1,500m for the Grand Slam and she’s leaving nothing to chance in her preparations for the showdown at Kingston’s Independence Park Stadium.
“My focus now is just on normal training and fine-tuning some areas as I prepare for the Grand Slam in Jamaica,” she said.
She already kicked off her 2025 campaign in style, storming to an 800m victory at the Athletics Kenya (AK) track and field meeting in Kapsabet last Saturday.
Chepchirchir clocked 2:02.5, finishing ahead of Vanice Kerubo (2:06.4) and Naumglorious Chepchumba (2:06.8).
She revealed that she was using the race to gauge her form ahead of the busy 2025 season.
“This was my first track race of the season and I was using it to gauge my body and see where I am after the build-up. This was an important race as I prepare for the Grand Slam,” she added.
Having attained the qualifying marks in both the 800m and 1,500m for the Tokyo World Championships, Chepchirchir noted she is undecided on which event to focus on.
“I have not yet chosen the race I want to take up for the World championships between the 1,500m and 800m. I will decide later after assessing my form,” she said.
She met the 1:59 entry mark in the 800m with a 1:57 victory at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Croatia last September, where she edged out Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin (1:57.43) and Ethiopia’s Nigist Getachew (1:57.47).
In the 1,500m, she met the 4:01.50 qualification mark with a 3:56.14 finish at the Golden Gala in Rome, where she placed fifth. Triple 1,500m Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon (3:52.89), Ethiopians Freweyni Hailu (3:54.16) and Birke Haylom (3:54.79) claimed the podium.
The 2025 season holds immense promise for Chepchirchir, who was in sensational form last year.
She set a world-leading of 2:31.24 in the 1,000m at the Silesia Diamond League on August 25, finishing ahead of Britain’s Jemma Reekie (2:32.56) and Moraa (2:33.43).
She further made her Olympic
debut in Paris, competing in the
1,500m but narrowly missing out
on the final after finishing 11th in
her semi-final heat (4:03.24).
