Latest news with #JoshKerr
Times
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Times
Inside Josh Kerr's training camp, a running mecca 5,000 miles from home
T he sun has yet to rise over the Sandia Mountains that provide a spectacular backdrop to his New Mexico home but Josh Kerr has already sent a video message to one of his training partners. 'Hope you're enjoying your lie-in,' he says to Brandon Miller, which is Kerr's way of letting the American know that today, like every other day, he means business. It is 5.30am and within four minutes Miller has fired back a message to his friend and tormentor. He too is up and preparing for a track session that will leave Britain's 1,500m world champion and double Olympic medal-winner seeking the shade of a tree while trying not to vomit. The exchange between Kerr and Miller is good-humoured but there is method to this early-morning madness. Kerr wants every workout to count and he endeavours to do this by creating a sense of competition among the professional runners who form the Brooks Beasts Track Club. 'We're not f***ing around here,' he says.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michael Johnson cancels Grand Slam Track's LA meet amid financial concerns
Michael Johnson will cancel the fourth and final meet of the inaugural Grand Slam Track season in Los Angeles to avoid major financial losses at the event. Athletes and their representatives will be updated in a Zoom call on Thursday amid silence in the build-up to the LA leg scheduled for 28-29 June, after competing 'challenger' athletes were not announced ahead of time as they were before the previous three meets. Advertisement The Independent understands that the economics of the LA event, and Grand Slam Track's deal with its host partner, UCLA, had become financially unviable. New investors are set to be announced next week and sources inside Grand Slam Track suggested that making the best short-term financial decision was key to ensuring the longer-term outlook of the project. The Los Angeles leg will not be replaced with another host city and the season will instead come to a premature end. But organisers remain confident that Grand Slam Track will continue in 2026, with LA likely to be on the circuit, and have privately stressed the positives of what they insist has been a relatively successful 'pilot' year. Before the opening event in Kingston, Jamaica, Johnson's co-founder Steve Gera told The Independent that they were 'maniacally focused on having the youngest fanbase of any sports league in the world in the next five years'. Josh Kerr, Dina Asher-Smith, Fred Kerley and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone signed up to Grand Slam Track (Getty/The Independent) The star-studded list of athletes – which included US stars Kenny Bednarek, Gabrielle Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as well as British names including Josh Kerr and Dina Asher-Smith – competed in two linked events, such as 100m and 200m sprints, with results combined to calculate the winners in each category. Prize money for winners stood at $100,000, with $50,000 for runners-up and $10,000 for eighth place. Advertisement The competition was billed as a much-needed shot in the arm for athletics, although the decision to include only track events and omit field disciplines was met with criticism. 'I am going to save what I think I can save,' Johnson explained. 'I think I can save track, I don't think I can save track and field.' But ticket sales have been slow and sponsorship and broadcast revenues have not met lofty expectations. The Times reports that organisers will save around £2.2m in prize money and travel expenses by cancelling the Los Angeles event. Some of the action has played out in half-empty stadiums, although the third event in Philadelphia was more popular, with close to 30,000 tickets sold over two days after the action was compressed from the three days of events held in Kingston and Miami. A disappointing crowd in Jamaica prompted organisers to review their locations for 2026, with a variety of other markets being considered, including European cities. Advertisement Gera told The Independent in March: 'We had discussions with a couple of different cities across the UK [but] that was a decision that we made to just focus on tightly packaging our run of shows [in the Americas] in year one. But we're really excited to get the product into Europe in the not too distant future.' Grand Slam Track is set to officially confirm its decision on the LA event later on Thursday. Organisers declined to comment.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Michael Johnson's big-money Grand Slam Track series ends early as final leg in Los Angeles is scrapped
The inaugural season of Michael Johnson's new Grand Slam Track series has been brought to a premature end after the final leg in Los Angeles was scrapped. Johnson's new big-money athletics league launched in Kingston, Jamaica in April, before moving to Miami and Philadelphia last month. The fourth and final event was due to be held in LA – the competition's headquarters and the host city of the 2028 Olympics – on June 28-29. However, Mail Sport understands that organisers have now pulled the plug on the meet, citing issues over the 'economics of the deal' with the 11,700-capacity Drake Stadium. The humiliating move has raised concerns over the long-term future and financial sustainability of Grand Slam Track, where athletes compete to win $100,000 at each meeting. Yet sources close to the series insist it will return in 2026 and that new investors and partners will be announced next week. Grand Slam Track claimed to have raised more than $30million from private investors upon its launch, enabling it to pay stars record prize money and lucrative contracts and appearance fees. Josh Kerr, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Zharnel Hughes and Daryll Neita were the four Brits who signed up as 'racers' to run in all the meets of the series, which was broadcast in the UK on TNT Sports with commentary from Steve Cram. US legend Johnson's aim was to get more eyeballs on athletics outside of the Olympics and World Championships and elevate the profile of the sport. However, Grand Slam Track immediately hit issues on the opening night in Kingston, when only around 6,000 spectators attended the first session at the 35,000-capacity National Stadium. The poor turnout resulted in organisers trying to fill the stands for the remaining two days of the meet by offering free tickets to schoolchildren. While crowds were better at the two events in America, albeit at smaller venues, the Philadelphia leg was cut from three days to two. Johnson planned to address Grand Slam Track athletes in a video call on Thursday, informing them of the decision to cancel the LA event, while offering assurances over the future of the league.
Telegraph
12-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
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.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 DTM - Round 3 - Zandvoort: Race 2 highlights
Hocker's kick coming along nicely ahead of Philly Nick Zaccardi catches up with Cole Hocker at Grand Slam Track Philadelphia, as they discuss Franklin Field, thoughts on the season, his rivals Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse, racing the 800m, the state of his kick, and more. 5:26 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
