Los Angeles (AFP) – US athletics great Michael Johnson on Tuesday announced the creation of a new circuit aimed at gathering the world’s top runners competing for $100,000 top prizes at four elite meetings a year.
Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medallist turned commentator for the BBC, said Grand Slam Track would debut in April of 2025 with two meetings in the United States and two international stops.
One US venue will be in Los Angeles, host city of the 2028 Olympics, Johnson said.
“We’re revolutionizing the track landscape, allowing our sport to remain at the forefront of the sporting world year round, and pushing our superstar racers to break new ground in their personal storytelling, competitive success, and marketability,” Johnson said in a statement.
The meetings will feature track races only, no field events, divided into categories of short sprints, long sprints, high hurdles, low hurdles, middle distance and long distance, with men’s and women’s races in each category.
Each category will feature athletes competing in two events per meeting, short sprint competitors, for example, racing at both 100m and 200m. A total of $12.6 million in prize money will be up for grabs across the four events, in addition to base pay and appearance fees.
The athlete with the best combined results from the two events in which they are taking part will receive $100,000, and the second-placed finisher $50,000, with the eighth-placed finisher taking home $10,000.
The league said it had already signed 400m hurdles world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who will be among 48 athletes under contract to Grand Slam Track and committed to competing in all four meetings of the season.
“I am thrilled to be a part of this league and look forward to everything we have coming in the future,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “I firmly believe that this is the step forward that track needs to take it to another level.”
Another 48 athletes will be invited to take part according to “their track record and current form” and paid appearance fees to take part. A statement added that Grand Slam Track has already secured more than $30 million in financial commitments from investors and strategic partners for the new league.
© 2024 AFP
