No. The athletes were told there would be a possibility of earning 100 grand from each grand slam meet if they had the best combination in the 3k AND 5K! GST can't just make a last-minute change like this and decide not to pay out what they already promised. This is ridiculous. It's a terrible decision and it makes MJ look like a coward and a fraud. You don't mess with the runners' expectations like this. The runners should sue GST. I knew GST would try to pull something like this and change the prize money stipulations.
Let's break down the 4 guys you are talking about:
Grant Fisher - Has already cleared $200K in 2 meets, I'm not shedding any tears
Luis Grijalva - Hasn't raced due to injury
Ronald Kwemoi - Has shown only middling form, and has pretty much done nothing from an entertainment standpoint
Hagos Gebrhiwet - Skipped the second meet for personal reasons
So we're talking about one guy who is already gotten absolutely paid, one guy who'd be racking up middling prize money if anything elsewhere (Kwemoi), an injured guy, and one who has only done one of two meets
Women's Side not much different:
Agnes N'getich : OK I feel worse here, but she has made $150K and the efforts are really so manageable for her, she probably got a huge check for her women's only WR in Germany
Tsige Gebreselama: Is somewhere around ~10th-15th in the world at 10K and below that at 3K (HM is probably her best distance), so is lucky to be a racer considering the number of better track racers from East Africa, who aren't here because they aren't NA-based
Who cares how many of them there are, and who they are, or even what they may or may not have already accomplished? That isn't the point. The runners on the start list were told they had an opportunity to win 100k dollars for competing in the 5k and 3k. Now the prize money is cut in half and it's due to caving to what is likely ratings and advertising rather than fulfilling the promises they made to the athletes themselves who are sticking their necks out to compete in early season meets in the scorching heat for a chance to win the full 100k they were promised, only to have cut in half for stupid reasons.
Who cares how many of them there are, and who they are, or even what they may or may not have already accomplished? That isn't the point. The runners on the start list were told they had an opportunity to win 100k dollars for competing in the 5k and 3k. Now the prize money is cut in half and it's due to caving to what is likely ratings and advertising rather than fulfilling the promises they made to the athletes themselves who are sticking their necks out to compete in early season meets in the scorching heat for a chance to win the full 100k they were promised, only to have cut in half for stupid reasons.
You make a good point. I think we can separate the decision to cut a long distance event from the decision to reduce the prize money in that group. GST could have kept the prize money the same for that group, and just awarded it based on performance in the one remaining event. That's what I would have done.
Other athletes needing to run two events in Philadelphia to get the same prize money might balk at that, as might a previous challenger like Ejgayehu Taye who had to run two long distance events in Kingston to get her bag. But, given the commitments that you pointed out, awarding the same prize money for one event would have been a defensible solution.
Wasn't the whole point of GST that Racers would commit to professional contracts to race twice at 4 events and in return would have the opportunity to win $100k? Arguably GST are in breach of contract for long distance Racers.
Have any long distance people announced "F This" yet? I won't be surprised.
Who cares how many of them there are, and who they are, or even what they may or may not have already accomplished? That isn't the point. The runners on the start list were told they had an opportunity to win 100k dollars for competing in the 5k and 3k. Now the prize money is cut in half and it's due to caving to what is likely ratings and advertising rather than fulfilling the promises they made to the athletes themselves who are sticking their necks out to compete in early season meets in the scorching heat for a chance to win the full 100k they were promised, only to have cut in half for stupid reasons.
You make a good point. I think we can separate the decision to cut a long distance event from the decision to reduce the prize money in that group. GST could have kept the prize money the same for that group, and just awarded it based on performance in the one remaining event. That's what I would have done.
Other athletes needing to run two events in Philadelphia to get the same prize money might balk at that, as might a previous challenger like Ejgayehu Taye who had to run two long distance events in Kingston to get her bag. But, given the commitments that you pointed out, awarding the same prize money for one event would have been a defensible solution.
Who cares how many of them there are, and who they are, or even what they may or may not have already accomplished? That isn't the point. The runners on the start list were told they had an opportunity to win 100k dollars for competing in the 5k and 3k. Now the prize money is cut in half and it's due to caving to what is likely ratings and advertising rather than fulfilling the promises they made to the athletes themselves who are sticking their necks out to compete in early season meets in the scorching heat for a chance to win the full 100k they were promised, only to have cut in half for stupid reasons.
I appreciate the nobility of your take. The fact of the matter is Grant even alluded to the fragile nature of the group when he talked to LetsRun on the podcast. These groups have just not been as competitive as you'd want. They still will get whatever their contract is to do all 4 and I doubt that will be reduced. Consider the alternative for Elise/Tanaka who probably wouldn't be able to get to DL fields (outside of sponsor-bolstered ones like Pre) in their current form. Or Kwemoi who would be bringing up the rear in China/Doha.
From the article: "I’m sure Sasha Zhoya has a bunch more fans in the US after the first couple of Grand Slams because he is insanely charismatic."
Got a kick out of this line. I follow track pretty closely and have no idea who this is. I don't think a single member of the general public who's not already a die hard track fan would recognize this name before or after GST.
In my opinion, the fantasy of marketing track and field to a mass audience needs to die. It's not a good spectator sport. The product is inherently boring if you aren't very knowledgeable about the sport. Structure meets around the desires of the existing fans, and if you want to grow the sport then focus on expanding the market (investing in competitive youth running, high school, collegiate, etc.) rather than trying to cater to a fictional market that doesn't exist.
Probably both, but you can also feel hopeful. The positive spin is they are figuring it out even if that accentuates the negative. While we like distance running the investment and format for most were not cutting it. The third day felt bloated and not as much of an atmosphere (coming on a Friday). I still have my concerns but I think this is a good paring down. If you put together two well-attended, decently watched days of action with stars (if not superstars) that’s not bad.
I got to be honest, this optimism seems pretty surface level. It kind of skim coats over the realities and seriousness of what they have had to do here.
It's already popping up on their social media but you have people that planned trips around these events - booked travel, hotels, took time off etc to watch the meet on the 30th that are now have nothing to watch. At the same time you haven't even clarified what's happening in LA so you have similar situations where people are starting to wonder what the status of the 27th is.
So it's great they are "figuring it out" but these moves are dramatic and unfortunately telling. And it's pointing to the reality that financially, despite this "historic" 30 million in startup capital, they might not even cover costs of the first season.
Wasn't the whole point of GST that Racers would commit to professional contracts to race twice at 4 events and in return would have the opportunity to win $100k? Arguably GST are in breach of contract for long distance Racers.
Have any long distance people announced "F This" yet? I won't be surprised.
They should all drop out and post on X a group photo of them flipping the bird. Distance runners are always the first athletes to be screwed by meet organizers at every level; from junior high all the way to the pros and beyond to masters competition. It's high time they stuck up for themselves and tell MJ and those freeloaders to fill the empty time slots with local hobby joggers because they are sick and tired of being taken advantage of and walked on like carpet. GST is no different than the AAU of old and I called it that something like this would happen where they would end up screwing the athletes out of prize money two months ago on this very message board.
Have any long distance people announced "F This" yet? I won't be surprised.
They should all drop out and post on X a group photo of them flipping the bird.
I'm sure Johnson and others would be happy if they did this. It would barely affect the number of people attending the meets or watching on TV and would allow him to save a whole bunch of prize money.
Anyone who believes that they are cutting a day to “make the meet better” or “listening to the fans” is as delusional as MJ and his supporters. The TV ratings are horrible, the aren’t selling tickets and they are losing their shirts. The only winner is the athletes going home with pay checks. Maybe if they listened to the many people they spoke to that explained to them why it wouldn’t work and what to change they would be in a better place right now. There are way to many people out there that think they can “fix the problem” but they don’t know the actual business of sport. I do applaud them for trying but the funding would have been better off helping grow the events in the United States that have a proven track record of success and maybe adding one or two more meets to the domastic schedule and really growing a true domestic series that would have 1-1.5 million viewers. Let’s see if two days will help but I doubt it. Penn can sell 10,000 tickets and still appear empty. it’s also a shame the LDR guys got screwed.
Who cares how many of them there are, and who they are, or even what they may or may not have already accomplished? That isn't the point. The runners on the start list were told they had an opportunity to win 100k dollars for competing in the 5k and 3k. Now the prize money is cut in half and it's due to caving to what is likely ratings and advertising rather than fulfilling the promises they made to the athletes themselves who are sticking their necks out to compete in early season meets in the scorching heat for a chance to win the full 100k they were promised, only to have cut in half for stupid reasons.
I appreciate the nobility of your take. The fact of the matter is Grant even alluded to the fragile nature of the group when he talked to LetsRun on the podcast. These groups have just not been as competitive as you'd want. They still will get whatever their contract is to do all 4 and I doubt that will be reduced. Consider the alternative for Elise/Tanaka who probably wouldn't be able to get to DL fields (outside of sponsor-bolstered ones like Pre) in their current form. Or Kwemoi who would be bringing up the rear in China/Doha.
They don't have any contracts drawn up with GSL for participation in all 4 meets. That was the problem that people were complaining about to begin with. They competed based on an informal promise that if they doubled at these meets they would get an opportunity to win 100k and lesser amounts of prize money even if they didn't have the best double combo placings. The agreement was based on trust and I called it months ago that GST was going to inevitably find a way to screw these athletes out of prize money and lo and behold I was right and that is exactly how things have panned out. They need to sue GST or this is going to set a bad precedent and none of the pros will participate in GST next season if they think there is a chance their prize money is going to be pulled last minute.
Big fan of the 2-day meet. Wife and I live in San Diego and went to UCLA. We were unlikely to go to Grand Slam LA since there's no way we could get to Westwood on Friday easily with LA traffic and we would miss 25-33% of the races over the weekend, so might be pointless to go at all. Much more likely to attend Sat/Sun now.
They need to announce NOW whether this is a permanent change or an experiment for Philly only. I too would be more inclined to get a hotel for 1 night (Saturday) and attend Saturday / Sunday than fighting Friday traffic and needing a hotel for 2 nights. The website still has the 3 day format for LA and they need to announce whatever the format will be now so people can plan ahead and book cheaper, earlier. These people live in a bubble and think that everyone can just turn on a dime and change plans with little notice.
They should all drop out and post on X a group photo of them flipping the bird.
I'm sure Johnson and others would be happy if they did this. It would barely affect the number of people attending the meets or watching on TV and would allow him to save a whole bunch of prize money.
The Grand Slam Track Meet in Los Angeles is still scheduled for 3 Days, Will wbe interesting to see if that changes to 2 Days
Might depend on the distance race/s. Those are the only athletes who really need a day in between racing. Will having 2 races make the standings for distance more exciting? That will probably be the determining factor.
They need to announce NOW whether this is a permanent change or an experiment for Philly only. I too would be more inclined to get a hotel for 1 night (Saturday) and attend Saturday / Sunday than fighting Friday traffic and needing a hotel for 2 nights. The website still has the 3 day format for LA and they need to announce whatever the format will be now so people can plan ahead and book cheaper, earlier. These people live in a bubble and think that everyone can just turn on a dime and change plans with little notice.
GST also needs to find some way to make amends (beyond refunding the Friday tix) to the people who are complaining about having already purchased flights, requested PTO, and booked hotels based on planning to attend for three days. If I was GST leadership, I'd be working overtime to try to strike special deals with Philadelphia museums, other local attractions, and restaurants to accommodate people who suddenly have extra time in Philly on their hands. There are lots of things to do/see in that city, and if GST attendees were given significant discounts on them as a token of appreciation/apology, they might feel better about the situation.
2 days is better, and one d race is fine. but the money thing isn't okay. One 5000 is more work than the 100h/100 group is doing, just to start.
If I'm Grant Fisher, I don't show up without a promise of an extra 50k behind the scenes bonus.
Explain how a 5000 is more work. Have you ever run as fast as the sprinters? It takes just as much out of an actual 100m going all out. There's literally 10-15 people watching the 5000 while everyone is tuned in for the sprint events. Boring distance races don't bring in nearly as many fans as sprint races. The most popular track athletes in the world are sprinters. Even the casual fans know the top ones. I'll bet my life that they couldn't name anyone that runs the 1500 and up.
They don't have any contracts drawn up with GSL for participation in all 4 meets. That was the problem that people were complaining about to begin with. They competed based on an informal promise that if they doubled at these meets they would get an opportunity to win 100k and lesser amounts of prize money even if they didn't have the best double combo placings. The agreement was based on trust and I called it months ago that GST was going to inevitably find a way to screw these athletes out of prize money and lo and behold I was right and that is exactly how things have panned out. They need to sue GST or this is going to set a bad precedent and none of the pros will participate in GST next season if they think there is a chance their prize money is going to be pulled last minute.
Source? From what we’ve heard the racers do have appearance fees. Maybe this isn’t true for the smaller names, I don’t know. I think you are being overly dramatic. This is still more prize money+entry fees than the likes of Kwemoi, Gebreselama, Tanaka and Cranny get.
I got to be honest, this optimism seems pretty surface level. It kind of skim coats over the realities and seriousness of what they have had to do here.
It's already popping up on their social media but you have people that planned trips around these events - booked travel, hotels, took time off etc to watch the meet on the 30th that are now have nothing to watch. At the same time you haven't even clarified what's happening in LA so you have similar situations where people are starting to wonder what the status of the 27th is.
So it's great they are "figuring it out" but these moves are dramatic and unfortunately telling. And it's pointing to the reality that financially, despite this "historic" 30 million in startup capital, they might not even cover costs of the first season.
I suppose we’ll see. For LA, I can clarify for it you now and I’m sure you know too- it’ll be 2 days again. The bad PR from screwing over people with the cancelled day or the long distance group getting halved will be forgotten/forgiven if the fix gets them closer to a sustainable product. Ditto the misguided idea of starting in Jamaica, and the too-early timing there. Maybe it’s surface-level and I’d agree with Rojo and Jon that since the 3-day and doubled LD group were day 1 concerns it’s frustrating they didn’t start without the bad ideas.