“I want the races to mean something…I want to put on a show. I want to show my fans why I am the greatest.” These words can be traced back to the track and field legend, Michael Johnson. However, they also resonate with most athletes who lace up to race. They want people to see them race, they want them to know how good they are. And not just by the number of medals they have, but by their acceleration, their stance, their racing style. And if a meet lacks that, they quit the meet. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone‘s biggest criticism is that the athlete misses out on a lot of races, but Michael is not giving in to it.

The four-time Olympic champion in an interview with Citius Mag‘s Chris Chavez told that “She doesn’t race enough. She doesn’t like to race. And that upsets us as fans.” Being a fan himself, the US athlete asked the American hurdler why she often misses meets, to which he got the same answer given by Noah Lyles, and the very same answer Johnson used to give when he used to race, “I want to, but I want it to mean something.”

Someone even told the American legend, who is now starting his own track league, “She was the wrong person to go get,” when he first brought her into the Grand Slam Track in 2024. He didn’t accept that criticism and responded sarcastically, saying, “Oh, so I should go get the person that actually always runs and runs every single race to prove that.” It made no sense to the three-time Grand Prix Final winner.

In the interview, Johnson also explained why the three-time world champion was the perfect choice for his league. Explaining the idea behind the league he said, “It is putting our athletes out there on a stage where the world can see them, whether it’s in the track meets when they’re competing, or whether it’s things outside of that that brings exposure to them, brings exposure to us, and brings exposure to the sport.”

Johnson wants to highlight not just the races, but also on to what’s happening on it and who’s competing. McLaughlin understood that. In Johnson’s words, “So she understood that that’s what we were doing.” The four-time Olympian was one of the very first to join the Grand Slam Track. Back when it was first announced in 2024 and soon many people followed. Maybe that’s Johnson frequently uses her as a prime example—even on Twitter.

“I bet Sydney would be the first to sign up for that” – Michael Johnson

There is a thread on Twitter that delves into why so many athletes are pulling out of events. The question came from Erin Brown, creator of “Rolled” in Track Professional Hater, who asked, “Why is it that in track, the athletes who are making millions are the main ones who don’t run at meets and claim there’s no money as the excuse for their lack of participation?” A t first, it might seem like a troll in disguise. However, it’s a valid question. Another user responded with the correct answer, pointing out,  “It’s the track business model that encourages these decisions. If we want change, the entire structure of contracts, meets leagues etc needs overhauled.”

What could be better than having a seven-time Diamond League meeting winner agree with you? Replying to the tweet, Johnson demands for a league that would motivate the athletes with a prize money that hasn’t been given before. He said, “Someone should create a league that contractually guarantees athletes race against their rivals by incentivizing them with base compensation and unprecedented prize money and major TV.”

By ‘major TV,’ he means, better streaming coverage. He wants those leagues to be seen worldwide. And he also said that the first person to hop into one of those leagues would be Sydney. “I bet Sydney would be the first to sign up for that,” he added. The Grand Slam Track is one such league. Now with just about a month to go and with the likes of Gabby Thomas, Fred Kerley, Quincy Hall and Cole Hocker there, how big of a success do you think the league can be?