Jerusalem Grand Slam Athletics Meet Set for Thursday With 76 Competitors From 29 Countries

Final preparations are underway for the 2026 Jerusalem Grand Slam, an international athletics meet set for Thursday, June 25, at the National Stadium in Givat Ram, Jerusalem. The competition will bring 76 athletes from 29 countries to the Israeli capital, alongside leading Israeli track and field athletes.

The international field includes competitors from the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Greece, Ukraine, Hungary, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ethiopia and Uganda, among others. National relay squads from Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland will also arrive in full strength and compete in the 4x100-meter relay, with their athletes expected to take part in individual events as well.

Israel’s top athletes scheduled to compete include Blessing Afrifah, Jonathan Kapitolnik, Adva Cohen, Omri Shiff, Romi Tamir, Estelle Vlanu, Menachem Chen, Yishay Ipraimov, Alina Drutman and Marsey Afrifah. The meet gives Israeli athletes a chance to face strong foreign competition at home, while also serving as an opportunity to secure qualification standards and ranking points ahead of the European Championships, which begin on August 10 in Birmingham.

This is the third straight year the Jerusalem Grand Slam will be held. Organizers say the event has become one of Israel’s leading international athletics meets, and last year it produced a major Israeli highlight when Omri Shiff set a national record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 49.82 seconds, breaking a mark that had stood for 34 years. This year’s program will also include a family fan zone with interactive athletics stations, and Eldan’s transparent studio, the event’s main sponsor, will again host athletes from Israel and abroad. Tickets are now available through Bimot.