With the inaugural Grand Slam Observe (GST) season simply over a month away, the league made extra headlines Tuesday going in opposition to the established order in observe and discipline. The league, based by four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson, introduced it’ll accomplice with betting service Stats Carry out to convey playing to the forefront of competitors to attract a wider viewers.
In response to the announcement on X, Johnson mentioned he’s excited to be altering the sport to convey sports activities betting to athletics.
The variety of occasions followers have tweeted at me saying @GrandSlamTrack ought to have betting, and I couldn’t reply! However at the moment we announce! 📣 We’re altering the sport!!! https://t.co/TuqppcWo5g
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) February 25, 2025
Athletics is comparatively new to the betting world, and outdoors of followers with the ability to wager on winners of Abbott World Marathon Majors, the chance to wager isn’t out there in lots of sportsbooks. Causes for this embody late submissions of starter lists (lineup playing cards for racers) and structural points, reminiscent of the game’s lack of TV presence.
Steve Gera, president of Grand Slam Observe, mentioned in an interview with Sportico that they noticed the high-interest degree in playing on the Paris 2024 Olympics. “Should you go and also you take a look at everybody from DraftKings and FanDuel and past, even the sportsbooks in Vegas… a variety of them took bets on the Olympics, and it did properly,” mentioned Gera.
In comparison with the everyday observe and discipline meet, the place a number of disciplines happen concurrently on the similar venue, GST plans to function one race at a time. Johnson believes this format offers a possibility to amass the largest viewers doable for every race—each for followers and sports activities bettors.
“We sit up for setting a brand new commonplace for our sport with Stats Carry out’s in depth community of trusted media and betting companions, eye-opening expertise, and their true ardour for the facility of sport to unify and entertain,” mentioned Johnson in a press launch.
Stats Carry out is a sports-AI firm shaped in 2019 by the merger of study firm Stats LLC and sports-media agency Carry out Content material. The corporate at the moment has partnerships with the Premier League, La Liga, the WTA, plus FIBA Basketball. The way it works is GST will license its information on racers’ performances to Stats Carry out and its media companions. Stats Carry out will deal with the integrity of Grand Slam Observe’s information and the betting product whereas promoting the information to sportsbooks on Grand Slam Observe’s behalf.
Whereas embracing sports activities betting can convey considerations of competitors manipulation and harassment of athletes, GST believes it’ll convey alternatives to athletics and profit the publicity of the athletes. “That is what skilled sports activities do,” Gera mentioned. “They benefit from all of the alternatives to construct fan bases … and in addition to create a platform the place the athletes will receives a commission extra in the long run.”
Originally of February, GST introduced a streaming media rights deal with Peacock and NBC Sports activities. The league will even broadcast weekend races on the CW Community. Every Slam will span three days, and Peacock will stream all days dwell, offering unique protection of the primary day of competitors. Along with Peacock, The CW Community will broadcast the Saturday and Sunday occasions dwell.
Grand Slam Observe’s inaugural roster options 48 Racers, together with prime observe athletes from across the globe, competing in opposition to 48 Challengers throughout 4 Slams in Kingston, Jamaica; Miami; Philadelphia and Los Angeles, beginning April 4-6. The star-studded lineup contains 400m hurdles world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, triple Olympic gold medallist Gabby Thomas, British distance star Josh Kerr and Canadian Olympic medallist Marco Arop.