Michael Johnson recently announced his take on a new kind of league that he planned on launching soon. Inspired by the tennis Grand Slams, he introduced the track and field Grand Slam League, which is set to debut in 2025. Justin Gatlin and Rodney Greene discussed the league in detail and gave their own two cents on a recent episode of the Ready Set Go Podcast.
According to Johnson, the league will commence sometime in April 2025, and about $12.6 million has been set aside to be distributed amongst four events. The organizers are also planning on signing some athletes for these races, who would get guaranteed compensation for their participation, and track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is the first sprinter to receive such a contract.
Both Gaitlin and Greene felt quite positive about the entire showdown, acknowledging that the innovative nature of the sprint could grab eyeballs. Besides, they agreed that such a fresh perspective on the sport can also give track and field a lot of exposure.
However, the marquee aspect of the event was the prize money being distributed to the athletes. Both winners and signed sprinters could highly benefit from the league, especially if they participate in all four sprints. Greene admitted:
“The one thing I like about the money situation is that money is life changing. Like if you win four slams, you know what I mean? That’s 400k!…if you’re one of those salary runners…”
Another key aspect of Johnson’s Grand Slam League was to promote on-field rivalry, as top-ranking athletes will face their fellow top counterparts more often. The competition is also set up in a way that athletes cannot succeed in a single category alone – they have to pick at least two events.
“It ain’t like a one-trick pony! You got to do two events…”
As Gatlin and Greene looked forward to more information and details on the league and its rules, they also discussed some exceptional cases. There might be some athletes who get so spent on energy that they might not benefit from the new competition.
What might go wrong for the Grand Slam League?
Although the prospect of being a salaried athlete who enters into a seemingly win-win situation by signing up for the Grand Slam League sounds ideal, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Gaitlin highlighted the case of Dutch track and field star Femke Bol, who specializes in 400m hurdles.
Sprinting and jumping through a 400m course is already taxing, and if one were to add a competitive prize into the mix, things could get draining. For someone like Bol to participate in both kinds of 400m sprints would be an intense affair. While Greene did mention that Bol would still not be tempted enough for the prize due to her existing sponsorships, it would be interesting to see who else comes in on contract.
