Mon, August 10, 2026
Former four-time Olympic champion sprinter, Michael Johnson, claims that athletes have been paid and that allegations of a secret payment to himself were baseless after Grand Slam Track turmoil
Former four-time Olympic champion sprinter, Michael Johnson, has claimed that track athletes have been paid after his Grand Slam Track (GST) event, a former global professional track league, faced economic turmoil and bankruptcy.
GST was designed to assemble the world’s quickest male and female track athletes in between major championships. It aimed to resemble the grand slam structure in tennis and golf and sought for nearly 100 elites to compete four times a year. A prize pool of £9.7 million was promised in the first season alone. Johnson paid for athletes to fly first class and for their partners to travel too.
Among the track stars involved included Josh Kerr, Dina Asher-Smith, Fred Kerley, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas. Despite financial constraints, prize money for winners stood at $100,000, with $50,000 for runners-up and $10,000 for eighth place.
However, after a poor turnout at the event in Kingston, Jamaica in April last year, GST’s backer, Eldridge, an investment firm co-founded by Todd Boehly, also co-founder of Chelsea FC, decided to abandon its £30 million cash injection it had indicated it would provide, contributing to the economic turmoil GST subsequently faced where athletes did not receive the payments promised. Organisers had negotiated free-to-air television deals in 200 countries, but Johnson no longer had the means to deliver the event and fulfil promises to athletes.
However, Johnson has since claimed to have raised £8.3 million to fund money owed to athletes. This was reportedly placed in escrow whilst Grand Slam Track was in voluntary bankruptcy, and a federal judge approved Johnson’s plan in May which then enabled the funds to be allocated to athletes and creditors. “In all, Johnson laid out more than £8.2m, the largest amount of money that has ever been paid to track athletes to compete,” as stated by The Telegraph.
In response to the alleged secret payment of £372,000 made to himself eight days before the collapse of the event, Johnson told The Telegraph: “I’m happy to clear it up, because it’s the most hurtful thing and the exact opposite of what was reported. Our credit card was full at Grand Slam Track, because we were facing significant cash-flow issues. We had 96 athletes, plus companions, whom we needed to fly to Miami and Philadelphia. We had 170 people to house in hotels in both cities, and the credit card had no room left. I instructed our travel team to put it on my credit card, and I would be reimbursed for it. So, what I received was reimbursement. I also loaned the company $2m to make sure we took care of the athletes. I decided to forgo my own salary.”
He also stated: “Nothing’s ever going to come close to being an Olympic champion, so I don’t chase that anymore…I do want to help this sport, but I don’t need to be known for it. I just want it done.”
