De Grasse's Grand Slam Track participation signal that it's worth answering the series' call

What did I think of Grand Slam Track's inaugural event in Kingston, Jamaica?

Three f-words pop up instantly.

Fast.

U.S. standouts Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson were a few tenths of a second off their Olympic-medal winning form, but they're supposed to be. It's April. They both looked race-ready anyway, claiming GST's short sprint titles in the Sprint Capital of The World.

And if you didn't have fun watching Sasha Zhoya securing his sprint hurdles trophy with his surprise win in the flat 100, or seeing half-miler Emmanuel Wanyonyi outclass elite 1,500m runners in their best event, maybe you just don't like sports.

But, yes, like the rest of you, I noticed some flaws. The rows upon rows of empty bleachers on the back straightaway stood out to me as a piece of poor planning, but even a half-full stadium is useful feedback. YouTube views and social media engagements are a valuable metric, but paying customers are worth even more. Given lacklustre attendance in Kingston, organizers have a much better idea of the challenge they're confronting as the tour moves to suburban Miami next month.

The reality is more fans will sign up when more recognizable names do, which makes the commitments GST announced last week so encouraging.

Timothy Cheruiyot, the 1,500-metre silver medallist at the 2020 Olympics will contest the short distance races, while Keni Harrison, another 2020 runner-up, and the second-fastest 100m hurdler in history, will contest the short hurdles.

But Canada's Andre De Grasse, who joins the men's short sprint cohort as a Challenger, stands out as the blue-chip prospect in this recruiting class. 

He has unmatched pedigree – 14 global medals, and national records in the 200 (19.62 seconds) and the 4x100