Michael Johnson: “The athletes are amazing but they need a platform”

As the inaugural staging of Grand Slam Track approaches, Michael Johnson talks about why he thinks it can bring about the kind of change that athletics needs to be able to grow

The national stadium in Kingston holds some significant memories for Michael Johnson. It was during his time at Baylor College that the man who would go on to become a multiple Olympic and world champion sprinter got his first taste of Jamaica. Travelling to race at the renowned venue was, in fact, the first time he’d ever left America. 

“I ran down there twice in college [in relay events], in 1989 and 1990,” he recalls. “It was eye-opening. I’d never seen that level of young talent.”

It’s the famous ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships or “Champs” that packs this particular arena to the rafters on an annual basis but, just five days after this year’s edition takes place, Johnson’s latest vision for the sport will start to become a reality on the very same track that will have played host to the Caribbean’s rising stars.

There will be some rather more established names on show for the first of the four meetings – others will follow in Miami, Philadelphia and then LA – that form the inaugural staging of Grand Slam Track, the project being driven by the former 200m and 400m world record-holder which is promising to bring change to the sport. 

In case you haven’t been following the story, Grand Slam Track is planning to do things a bit differently. Here’s the concept. A total of 48 athletes, or “Racers”, have already been signed up and are contracted to compete in one of six event groups in each of the four “Slams”.

At each Slam, every Racer will have to take part in two different disciplines – for example, US star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will race over the 400m hurdles and the 400m flat, while her fellow American Cole Hocker will take on not just his more familiar 1500m distance but also the 800m.

On top of that, those 48 Racers will come up against 48 “Challengers”, whose identities will be different from Slam to Slam, with the first prize for coming out on top being $100,000. It’s all designed to create a professional, and more lucrative, league that sits at the top of the sport, places the focus on rivalries rather than times and draws more attention. 

The biggest challenge, according to Johnson: “Was always going to be getting athletes to commit to competing against…