Michael Johnson Track League unveiled - Grand Slam Track will require athletes to double in siloed event groups

Nick Symmonds.

I think she is getting over that. The positive side of this is it’s an athlete whose coach philosophically didn’t want to race her overseas anyway. So her racing in this league really won’t water down the Diamond League like signing Holloway, Lyles or some other American stars would.

But only 2 of the meets will be the in US (once of which being LA, other TBD), with 2 other international locations TBD. You don't get your base pay unless you do all 4 meets.

If the Diamond League doesn't beef up their prize money I don't see why anyone would choose to run there over this league if they have the option? 10x the prize money for a win + a base salary as well. 8th place in this league pays out the same as 1st on the DL. And if they can secure a media deal, it will be way more exposure for athletes than getting locked away behind a Flotrack paywall that very few people are watching.

"Two of the four Slams will be based in the United States. Los Angeles has been revealed as one of the Slam host cities The other three host cities will be announced later this summer."

Any guesses for the other US location?

Options include:

a) Hayward Field

b) Hayward Field

c) Hayward Field

d) Hayward Field

Will be interesting to see the international Locations. Something like LA, New York, London, Paris would make sense.

Is this suggesting they’re going to make distance runners do a 3K/5K weekend double 4x a year? Good luck with that. To be honest, they should probably leave above the 1500 to the Diamond League in my estimation.

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Grand Slam Track

Grand Slam Track is a new and reimagined elite track event series featuring the sport's biggest stars in head-to-head competition and amplified by a dynamic media and entertainment ecosystem designed to elevate the athletes a...

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I think she's the perfect person, to be honest. She probably has as much general recognition/popularity as anyone in the sport, and what could better signal the potential appeal of the league than getting a superstar who races infrequently to sign up for 8 races?

A lot still has to go right for the league to properly work, but I think it sounds amazing and hope that it pans out.

I'd replace Paris with Budapest, considering the big crowds they keep getting when they host meets.

If it's cheesy, then it's Noah Lyles. Your website sucks on a laptop and on phone

Why?

I'd love to see distance runners throw down over different distances, frequently. We already have a great championship system to see who is the best at targeting and showing up for one race that matters the most. A regular season that incentivizes consistent performance over different distances makes a ton of sense to me, because it displays and rewards something different. If the runners don't worry so much about the times, I see no reason why racing 8k over a weekend 4x a year would be an issue for elite distance runners.

Nike doesn't fund this organization like it does USATF, so thankfully we won't be subjected to another round of Hayward Field events. Would guess either NYC or Atlanta

if I were a pro I'd prefer it to be in Washington, Nevada, Texas, Tennessee, etc. Weather might make Texas better for sprints and worse for distance and Washington as the opposite, but no income tax would be a positive of all those states

“WHO ARE SOME ATHLETES YOU EXPECT TO BE GST RACERS? WHO DO YOU EXPECT TO BE GST CHALLENGERS?
Sydney McLaughlin is our first GST Racer and we’re absolutely thrilled to have her. We want her rival Femke Bol to come aboard and race her four times a year – who wouldn’t want that, right? There are so many amazing racers out there right now from Faith Kipyegon to Shericka Jackson to Sha’Carri Richardson to Noah Lyles to Josh Kerr to Karsten Warholm and more and more and more. We want all of these global superstars and more to join the league.
As for Challengers – heck we’re looking at an amazing crop of athletes coming out to be pro in the next year – we see you McKenzie Long, we see you Nico Young….“

To me, the long distance category will be highly strained and I think they should bag it. What are we likely to see in it? Nico, Edwin Kurgat and Adrian Wildschuut straining to complete 4 7:50/13:30 5k doubles? Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think it works at all.

Agreed. With no rabbits or pacing lights, the focus of this league is going to be racing and storytelling, not time trialing. I love this:

“From a presentation standpoint, we will be able to present the sport and our events in a way that is modern and that allows us to bring the fan – not just the avid fan but the casual fan as well – into the sport and understand the sport and be able to be entertained by it,” Johnson says. “That’s being able to have time during our broadcasts to be able to set up the races, bring people in and help them understand the players, the athletes and their stories, why they’re here and why they have an opportunity to win this. Then, letting that race take place and then allowing us to celebrate that race on the other side. The avid fan is already invested in the athlete and wants that athlete to win, we want that casual fan to have that same feeling.”

I just think what you are going to get are extremely slow, sit-and-kick affairs from fringe global finalists. The top guys have to hit fast times in other races to qualify. This will be LIV Golf for the top distance guys.

Agree with your reasoning. I just wonder how sustainable the league structure is. They're paying out $12.6 million in prize money year 1, plus base contracts for athletes. Plus all the expenses that go into flights, staging meets. That's not cheap. Are they going to be able to make this thing profitable before the money runs out?

Barega ran 13:00/7:30 or faster 5 times outside of World's last year. Kejelcha races a similar amount. If you're them, why wouldn't you sign on to an opportunity to win, potentially, $400,000 plus whatever the base compensation is to race in the grand slam league compared to winning $10,000 a race plus $30,000 in the final if they win the diamond league?

Not sure how everything works out with contract incentives, but if I'm Barega, Kejelcha, etc. I'd give the league serious thought.

Very true. Given that athletes will actually have a schedule to follow, I think they should lean into the sports betting angle. $11.6B was wagered on horse racing last year in the U.S and there was a total of $1.3B in prize money. Thats the ticket to having $ flow into this sport imo. Its also how you attract non T&F fans to watch your product