4-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson’s new athletics league, Grand Slam Observe, held its inaugural meet final weekend in Kingston, Jamaica. Whereas there have been some highlights through the three-day occasion, criticism of the idea and its long-term viability overshadowed its debut. Former Diamond League founder Patrick Magyar even took to social media to label Johnson’s challenge as “Grand Flop Observe.”
The idea of Grand Slam Observe goals to convey Olympic-style pleasure to the game a number of occasions a 12 months, just like majors in tennis and golf. The league incorporates a roster of 48 racers and 48 challengers competing throughout 4 meets, with vital prize cash at stake in every of the six occasion classes.
Nonetheless, Magyar was fast to level out the shortcomings after the occasion’s opening day, stating: “It took only one competitors day for the much-hyped Grand Slam Observe sequence to show it’s not the way forward for observe and area – it’s a flop. Actually, ‘Grand Flop Observe’ is likely to be a extra correct title. Billed as the game’s daring new path by Michael Johnson, the sequence revealed its true face on day one in Kingston, Jamaica: an environment nearer to a mausoleum than a laboratory of innovation.”
He continued, criticizing the meet as “boring, lifeless, with lengthy stretches of inactivity and—maybe most telling—an empty stadium in Kingston, the capital of one of many world’s biggest observe and area nations.” Whereas Magyar acknowledged his potential bias as a key determine behind the Diamond League, the place he served as vice-president and director of the distinguished Weltklasse Zürich meet in Switzerland, he argued the stats communicate for themselves.
An area Jamaican sports activities journalist additionally questioned the feasibility of the brand new sequence. Leighton Levy, an athletics professional with The Sports activities Examiner, described the weekend as “successful with performances and a miss with the group.”
Levy mentioned he believes a number of components contributed to the low attendance. “For instance, Sunday at midday, most Jamaicans are centered on dinner plans, not attending a observe meet. And on Friday, when the meet began at 5:30 p.m., folks had been caught in gridlock visitors after leaving work,” mentioned Levy. He additionally pointed to a lack of know-how of Jamaican tradition from GST and the way most locals couldn’t afford the ticket costs.
One other main disadvantage was the absence of star athletes like Jamaican sprinters Shericka Jackson and Kishane Thompson and American Noah Lyles, all fan favourites. Their non-participation diminished the occasion’s attraction, particularly in a rustic identified for observe and area.
Johnson, the founding father of Grand Slam Observe, took to social media following the weekend to confess, “We bought some issues proper and a few issues fallacious, however we’re dedicated to bettering with every occasion.” He invited followers to share recommendations for the league, tweeting: “What can GST do over the season to make it higher?” The tweet garnered over 500 replies, with many echoing Magyar and Levy’s critiques, reminiscent of lowering downtime between occasions and boosting efforts to fill the stands.
What can we do over the season to make @GrandSlamTrack higher?
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) April 8, 2025
The following Grand Slam Observe meet will happen from Might 2-4 on the Ansin Sports activities Advanced in Miramar, Fla., a venue with a capability of solely 5,000. Nonetheless, the Philadelphia occasion later in Might at Franklin Discipline will pose one other attendance problem, because it seats greater than 50,000 followers at full capability.