When Michael Johnson founded his own league, Grand Slam Track, he set out on a transformative mission to overhaul the track and field environment. The track legend acknowledged a common issue experienced by athletes and the sport, which he had also encountered during his successful career.
GST’s official X page released a video in which Johnson was open about his objectives for launching the league. He intended to “create value” for track athletes, knowing that it was a long-standing issue in track and field.
“Currently, it’s a real struggle for track athletes to create value for themselves from the talent and the skill that they have. That was a problem that I had as an athlete, as well, trying to figure out how to create value for myself.“
Johnson emphasized that even if a certain athlete possessed a diverse skill set in addition to talent, they were unable to build value for themselves in the sport.
This wasn’t a new challenge for the track veteran, despite being a four-time Olympic gold medalist. Johnson stated that in track and field, athletes had to build their own value because the sport never created it for them.
However, by proposing to introduce Grand Slam Track in the 2025 season, he intended to help these ambitious athletes “create that value” by giving them an amazing chance to display their talent to a worldwide audience four times a year.
Creating value for athletes.
That’s what Grand Slam Track is all about. pic.twitter.com/kZrVOP1q2j
— Grand Slam Track (@GrandSlamTrack) September 17, 2024
Prior to the Paris Olympics, the track world was aware that Johnson was revolutionizing the sport. Even though he retired a long ago, his dedication to it was unparalleled. Building on his reputation as an astute observer, Johnson highlighted one of the most consistent athletes in the sport.
Johnson highlighted one of the most consistent athletes
Johnson frequently criticized the track community’s perspectives on specific athletes. Months before the 2024 Olympic Games, the track veteran discussed Kenny Bednarek’s lack of popularity, describing him as one of the sport’s most consistent competitors.
Despite having fewer gold medals in his career, the 25-year-old wanted the track world to focus on his incredible dedication to compete and even medal in the majority of big events in a single season. Johnson had also noticed Bednarek since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and his performances blew him away.
Finally, he emphasized that the view of the track community had to alter for athletes like the 25-year-old since they were the ones that brought the action-packed meets to the races they competed in.
