Grand Slam Track: What's All Happened In Their First Three Months?
Grand Slam Track: What's All Happened In Their First Three Months?
Three months ago, Michael Johnson announced the creation of Grand Slam Track, a new premier global track & field league that is unlike anything we've seen.
Three months ago, 400m American record holder Michael Johnson unveiled Grand Slam Track, a new global track league set to debut in Spring 2025.
Starting next April and lasting through September, four meets -- also known as 'Slams' -- will pit the world's fastest athletes against one another in one of the six event groups.
Each event group will feature four 'Racers', who will compete in all four Slams throughout the season, taking on a new quartet of 'Challengers' each time.
Those Challengers will be made up by a group of four athletes who pose the biggest threat to the four Racers, ideally resulting in honest racing and star-studded head-to-head battles.
It's also worth noting that each athlete won't compete just once at a Slam, but twice in their respective event group. For example, Racers in the 'Short Sprints' will race both the 100m and 200m at every Slam.
But where does Grand Slam Track stand now a few months after its initial reveal?
So far, the league has made big headlines by signing some of the top stars in the sport.
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Along with the initial announcement of the league itself, Johnson revealed that two-time Olympic 400mH champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was the first Racer to sign on and join the league.
Just a week after McLaughlin-Levrone signed on, Great Britain's Josh Kerr, the 2023 1500m World Champion became the first athlete on the men's side. Earlier this month, both the Olympic champion and Bronze medalist joined Kerr on the men's side, as Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse took two of the three remaining spots in the 'Short Distance' group.
After getting all three Olympic 1500 medalists on the men's side, both Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley became the first sprinters of any to join the league, as they announced their future plans just under a week ago. It was also announced today that Olympic 100m bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson will sign with Grand Slam Track, becoming the seventh athlete to commit to the league.
Johnson and the team behind Grand Slam Track announced over the summer that there would be $12.6 million awarded throughout the league's inaugural season.
At every single Slam, each event group winner will head home $100,000 richer, while the next seven finishers will win $50,000, $30,000, $25,000, $20,000, $15,000, $12,500 and $10,000.
The months leading up to Grand Slam Track's debut are going to be jam-packed full of announcements, with 41 Racer slots still waiting to be filled.
Alongside the Commissioner is a pair of former athletes helping lead the charge, as Kyle Merber and Morolake Akinosun are helping Johnson bring his vision to life.
Merber was named the Senior Director of Racing, while Akinosun is set to be the Head of Athlete Relations following her recent retirement from competition.
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