Retired Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson will be making history starting in April 2025. He is set to launch Grand Slam Track, a new format offering over $12.6 million in prize money split across four events: two in the U.S. and two internationally. This innovative approach aims to captivate track fans and immerse the general public further.
Michael Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion, is the only athlete to win both the 200 meters and 400 meters at the same Olympics, achieving this feat in Atlanta in 1996 and successfully defending it in Sydney in 2000. He believes this league will be a significant step forward for the sport, making it the most lucrative track league in history.
“They deserve to be compensated,” the 56-year-old former Olympian said. “The structure of the sport in the past has not compensated those athletes who take the risk to go and compete against the best athletes in the sport.”
The first signing announced was US Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
“I firmly believe that this is the step forward that track needs to take it to another level,” the gold medal winner said in a press release from Grand Slam Track. This league is set to change the dynamic and the world of track.
