Michael Johnson cuts short athletics roadshow ahead of emergency meeting
Michael Johnson cancelled the final leg of the new Grand Slam Track series ahead of an emergency meeting with athletes on Thursday night.
A new format that was designed to breathe fresh life into track athletics has drawn sparse crowds during three weekends of action so far this year and, following talks on Thursday, the final round later this month in Los Angeles has been scrapped.
Johnson has raised the earning potential of the athletes with $100,000 prizes for winning races at each of the four meetings in the new league and, while some big global stars including Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had signed up, the racing had drawn limited interest.
Great Britain Olympic silver medallists Josh Kerr and Matthew Hudson-Smith were among the winners in the opening rounds but many of the major draws in the sport – notably Noah Lyles and Jakob Ingebrigtsen – were not signed up.
It is understood that the specific economics of the deal at the UCLA venue in LA were particularly challenging and what is being seen as a 'pilot season' has now ended. Cancelling the LA event will save organisers in excess of £2 million, it is understood. However, an announcement regarding new investors and new partnerships for the 2026 season is due next week.
The Grand Slam Track concept has drawn criticism for the absence of field events and requiring athletes to 'double up' in races, meaning that they must compete twice in a relatively short space of time, including in distances that are not their speciality.
With no pacemakers, Johnson had hoped that regular racing between leading athletes would be attractive to the general public. However, the big meaningful race showdowns in athletics have historically always taken place at the major international championships.
The Diamond League circuit provides a further option that includes racing with pacemakers, meaning those more established events can often attract runners who are going for world records, personal bests or simply even what are hugely challenging qualifying standards for the major championships.
The cancellation of the final event represents a significant embarrassment for Grand Slam Track but it is planning to return in 2026 with a refined concept and potentially races in Europe. British Athletics was approached to host an event this year but has instead decided to focus on the London Diamond League Meeting next month, which will include Lyles, Ingebrigtsen, Kerr and Keely Hodgkinson, and which is already an 80,000 sell-out. Track and field's main event this year is the World Championships that will be hosted in Tokyo in September.
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