U.S. Olympic Champion Sprinter Michael Johnson Creates Grand Slam Track

Four-time Olympic Champion Michael Johnson has launched Grand Slam Track, a new global professional track competition with plans to launch in the spring of next year with four events around the world and a prize pool of $12.6 million, the announcement coming less than 40 days before the start of the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris.

The inaugural Slam will take place in April 2025. Los Angeles will serve as the global home for Grand Slam Track and host one of the events with one more event in the United States and two others in international locations to be announced. The league also announced it has signed world-record hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, lending star power to the new operation almost a year before it opens.

“I am delighted to finally unveil Grand Slam Track to the millions of track fans around the world,” said Johnson, who wore his famous golden spikes at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta while setting the world record at 200 meters to complete the 200-400 sweep and who will serve as commissioner. “We are excited to launch this new platform for the planet’s greatest racers in this sport we all love. Our team has worked tirelessly to design and build a product that will be loved by fans and provide opportunities for our racers that they truly deserve.”

Each year, 48 athletes will be named to the league as GST Racers and will commit to racing in all four Slams per year. They will receive an annual base compensation for racing in each Slam and are eligible for full prize money. The remaining 48 racers will be known as GST Challengers and will be paid a set appearance fee to compete at individual Slams.

The focus will be on head-to-head competition. All racers will compete twice over the three-day event and all Slam events will meet World Athletics regulations, with achieved marks being eligible for rankings and standards.

“We’re revolutionizing the track landscape, allowing our sport to remain at the forefront of the sporting world year-round and pushing our superstar racers to break new ground in their personal storytelling, competitive success and marketability,” Johnson said. “Grand Slam Track is going to take our sport to new heights.”

The winner of each Slam group will take home $100,000 in prize money and the eighth-place competitor will earn $10,000. The total pool of $12.6 million in prize money will be awarded across the events each year. World Athletics has said it will pay $50,000 to gold medalists this year in Paris (relay teams will split $50,000 between their members) and also will start a new competition featuring a $10 million prize pool for gold medalists called ‘Ultimate Championship’ with its inaugural competition in September 2026 in Budapest.