Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was the first to leap, but not everyone was ready to follow. As Grand Slam Track (GST) launched, skepticism loomed—would the biggest names in track and field, like Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson, trust the vision? Michael Johnson, the mastermind behind GST, has heard the doubts, but he isn’t letting their absence overshadow the 48 elite athletes who did show up. With four high-stakes slams ahead, the stage is set for a major shift in track and field. But before that, Johnson has a final verdict on the skeptics.

The launch of Grand Slam Track was never about getting everyone on board right away—it was about building something groundbreaking and letting the best athletes decide for themselves. In conversation with Citius Mag founder Chris Chavez, 4x Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson shared everything about GST, from securing business success in the first year to engaging fans like other sports.

As he was asked about the key concerns that athletes had before joining the league, how have those been addressed? Michael Johnson explained in the easiest way possible, as he puts it, “When we build it, you know, they come.” The foundation has been set, but expecting every top name to sign up in Year One? Unrealistic. This is a long game, and Johnson knows it.

He further added, “And that’s the other thing—just like we talked about with television and everything else. Are all of the athletes going to come in Year One? Come on, no. All the athletes are not going to come in Year One.” As one of the top athletes like Noah Lyles didn’t show up this time, but may be next year, you never know, right?

Instead of dwelling on who’s not here, Johnson shifts the focus to those who are. “You can over-index and get hyper-focused on who’s not here, which, in my opinion, is somewhat disrespectful to the 48 who are here,” he says. And he has a point—these aren’t just any athletes. Olympic champions, world champions, and finalists who have already proven themselves at the highest level. This isn’t just a test run; it’s history in the making.

The skepticism was inevitable, but momentum speaks for itself. “This has never happened in the sport,” Johnson reminds us, and that’s exactly why it’s worth paying attention to. The first chapter of Grand Slam Track is already being written—not by those waiting on the sidelines, but by the ones bold enough to step up and race. Even Michael Johnson shares the excitement and confidence that the vision is coming along exactly as planned.

From skeptics questioning its viability to debates over its impact, Michael Johnson has heard it all. But as he puts it, “One thing that I’m proud of—if you go back and look from the day it was announced… there were all sorts of questions.” And those questions didn’t stop. Questions about the broadcasting, sponsors backing out, and track athlete Noah Lyles taking a dig at GST with his statements like, “If a tree falls in the woods and nobody’s around to see it, did that tree fall?” Johnson has faced it all.

Yet, through all the scrutiny, Johnson stayed the course. He raised the money, built the foundation, and proved that this wasn’t just another ambitious idea—it was a movement. GST secured a major broadcast deal, partnering with NBC Sports and The CW Network in the U.S. with Peacock as an exclusive streaming home and CW Network as a broadcasting home. Yep, that’s correct. Fans can even watch the one-of-a-kind event on their home screens. Interestingly. Johnson has brought some elements to it that are noticeably different from other track meets.

Michael Johnson’s GST defies the typical concepts of track and field

Over the years, Michael has been increasingly vocal in his criticism of the direction of track and field, which is the most in-demand sport every time the Olympic Games roll around but struggles to retain the interest of fans during the years in between. The primary question was: What needs to change?

Johnson felt he needed to bring in a fresh perspective to the way track and field operates. In June last year, he launched Grand Slam Track (GST), aiming to pit the best sprinters and middle and long-distance runners against each other more regularly. Johnson hopes the 4 annual meets GST will stage, will carry the same prestige as the Grand Slams in tennis or majors in golf.

And the event structure isn’t the only thing GST is borrowing from other sports. Johnson designates himself the commissioner of the series, a title rarely seen in track and field. That hints at how Johnson visualizes GST, which he says has been built “from the playbooks of other sports”, where the most lucrative competitions are run by independent entities instead of federations.

“You take something like Formula One, the FIA does not run Formula One,” Johnson said, speaking to SportsPro in late July last year. “It’s Liberty Media that’s doing that, and they’re a for-profit, private organisation. Think about the NFL or the English Premier League, it’s not the football federation that’s doing that, it’s not the English FA that’s running the Premier League.

“So the same situation, I think, was always going to be needed for track and field: to have a commercially-minded organisation that could actually come in, take this sport and commercialise it in a way that it needs. For Olympic sports, we typically look for the federations to do everything, and I think that it’s time for us to look elsewhere,” he had added.

Interestingly, Johnson is so confident about his concept that he said that he didn’t need to take it on a “roadshow” to convince partners to invest. “The advantage we have is that this sport has been around forever,” he notes. “It is the oldest sport – literally, the oldest sport. It is compelling. Every four years during the Olympic Games, people watch it, they love it, so we don’t need to recreate the sport. We don’t need gimmicks,” he had said. The meet might be nascent, but looks like with a legend at the helm, it is also destined to legendary heights.