NEW ERA
Olympic icon Michael Johnson launches new $12.6m Grand Slam Track ‘revolution’ with two new events in USA
Johnson hits out at the way the sport has been run
OLYMPIC legend Michael Johnson has launched a new track league that he hopes will transform the sport.
Track and field superstar Johnson, 56, wowed the world with his record-breaking and gold medal winning performances at the Olympics.
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Now he's wanting to give back and Grand Slam Track will aim to bring together the world's elite runners, offering $100,000 as a top prize.
There will be four meetings every year, two of them in the United States, with the new competition set to begin in April 2025.
There will be a total prize fund of $12.6 million split over four events.
"We're revolutionizing the track landscape," Johnson said.
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It could be that the new league quickly becomes a rival for the existing Diamond League series of events.
Johnson has been critical of the Diamond League in the past, saying, "I love this sport and owe everything I have to this sport.
"It’s been a shame for me to watch it over the last couple of decades since I retired not be able to continue to provide the same amazing moments to people, outside of just the Olympics.
"Over three billion people are watching the sport once a year during major championships and have an expressed interest to continue watching the sport if there was a place to do so.
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"So I see it as a real opportunity from that perspective.
American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion, has been announced as the first athlete to join the league.
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"I firmly believe that this is the step forward that track needs to take it to another level," she said.
Earlier this month, World Athletics announced a new global championship to start in 2026 with gold medallists receiving $150,000.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will see world champions, Olympic champions, Diamond League winners and the year’s leading athletes compete against each other while representing their national teams.
If anyone can make this new venture work in the sport, it's surely Johnson.
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He won the 200m and 400m double at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
He broke the world record as he claimed victory in the 200m final.
He followed that up by winning 400m gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Johnson also won a host of other gold medals, including at five separate World Championships in the 1990s.
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In more recent times, he has worked as a track and field pundit for the BBC in the United Kingdom.
It is expected that he will be part of the BBC team for this summer's Paris Olympics.