Kingston, the hometown of Usain Bolt, is in the spotlight these days, especially after Michael Johnson threw his hat in the ring with a game-changing idea. He’s launched the Grand Slam Track (GST) League, aiming to take track and field to new heights, promote the sport beyond the Olympics, and give athletes a leg up with more exposure and sponsorship deals. But what’s got track and field fans talking is that this league seems to have reignited the legendary USA vs. Jamaica rivalry, bringing the heat for an exciting season ahead!

On November 11, Michael Johnson dropped some big news—Kingston, Jamaica, will host the inaugural Grand Slam Track competition in April 2025. In his words, “Jamaica has such a strong history in this sport. The talent and the love for the sport here make it a perfect fit for what we’re building.”

Despite being an American four-time Olympic gold medalist, Johnson chose Jamaica over the U.S. to kick off this major event, and it’s sparked some serious buzz. While the idea is to connect athletes with fans and grow the sport, it’s ruffling a few feathers, especially among American track fans who are a bit troubled by the rivalry between the U.S. and Jamaica that this could reignite.

The Kingston Slam is set to take place at the National Stadium at Independence Park from April 4-6, 2025. Garth Gayle, the president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association, couldn’t contain his excitement, saying, “We are proud and excited that Kingston has been selected to host the very first Grand Slam Track event.” He added that it’s a huge nod to Jamaica’s rich track history and the incredible athletes who’ve put the country on the map as a global track powerhouse.

It aims to pit the best sprinters and middle and long-distance runners against each other more regularly. Currently, athletes do not have a minimum requirement of meets that they need to compete in. That creates uncertainty for fans, who might buy tickets for events only to later find out that the sport’s biggest stars aren’t taking part.

To address that, GST will contract 48 GST Racers who will receive annual base compensation on top of their prize money earnings to compete in all four Slams. Among those who have already signed up are 400m hurdles Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, reigning 1,500m world champion Josh Kerr and US sprinter Fred Kerley.

The other 48 athletes will be known as GST Challengers, who will be paid a set appearance fee to compete at individual Slams. They will be chosen based on their performances and the most intriguing matchups. Johnson aims to elevate the sport by offering a total of $12.6 million as prize money throughout these tournaments with the winner of each Slam category receiving US$100,000, while the eighth-placed athlete will still be guaranteed US$10,000. But he does not want the event to be just another track meet, and has some concrete ideas to make it bring a revolution in the sport.

Fuelled by Johnson’s belief that track and field in its current state doesn’t meet the needs of athletes or fans, GST will stage four annual meets, which he hopes will carry the same prestige as the Grand Slams in tennis or majors in golf. Interestingly, as Johnson pointed, he has taken his learnings from other sports while crafting the event.

Johnson will be the commissioner of the series, a title that is not so common in track and field. Johnson himself says that it has been built “from the playbooks of other sports”, where the most lucrative competitions are run by independent entities rather than federations.

“You take something like Formula One, the FIA does not run Formula One. 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,” Johnson said, speaking to SportsPro in late July.

“So the same situation, I think, was always going to be needed for track and field: to have a commercially-minded organization that could actually come in, take this sport and commercialize 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 further added. And they are indeed doing that. Look at the innovative scoring pattern.

The goal of the scoring is to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of athletes, that will not only consider raw speed but also consistency and versatility across different disciplines. Traditional track meets focus on individual race performances, often without giving due recognition to the athlete’s versatility and consistency. However, GST’s unique scoring system takes all of this into account.

The competition is divided into six event categories: short sprints, long sprints, short hurdles, long hurdles, short-distance races, and long-distance races. For each category, there are two divisions; for instance, the 100-meter and 200-meter races represent the short sprints category. Competitors must participate in both races within their category.

Athletes earn points based on their finishing positions: first place receives 10 points, second place gets 9 points, and so on, with 1 point for the eighth-place finisher. After both races in each category, the points are tallied, and the athlete with the highest total is declared the winner. In case of a tie, the athlete with the lowest combined time from both races will take the top spot.

This system is remarkably different from traditional track and field scoring, where each race is typically treated as an isolated event. Johnson’s model instead emphasizes consistency across races, rewarding athletes who can maintain high performance over multiple events rather than those who excel in just one. All these measures have created a buzz, even among the international regulators of the sport.

World Athletics, risking its relationship with other international federations, became the first to financially reward Olympic gold medalists in Paris 2024. It will also offer a record US$10 million prize pot at the Ultimate Championship, a new ‘fast-moving’ event format that will debut in 2026 before occupying the year in the quadrennial cycle that doesn’t currently feature an Olympics or world championships in track and field. The Diamond League, meanwhile, has also announced that its prize money next year will increase to a record US$9.24 million.

While all these out-of-the-box incidents in the sport have sparked curiosity, the Jamaican saga hasn’t gone down too well with some U.S. fans, who feel like they’re being left out, while others are excited about the fresh competition and international flavor this could bring.

Grand Slam Track can boost the popularity of the sport in Jamaica

One fan expressed their hopes for the upcoming event, saying, “I sincerely hope Grand Slam Track gets the support when it makes its inaugural debut in Kingston, Jamaica, next April. Jamaicans aren’t really big track fans, and so I hope the handful of real track heads go out and support. That, along with international fans of the sport. This is nice for Jamaica, the home of world-class sprinters and sprinting.”

This fan brings up an important point—the country hasn’t always been known for its track and field fanbase. Surely Jamaicans are proud of their athletes, but the country’s sports culture has often been more focused on football and cricket. But not everyone shares that concern.

One fan expressed excitement about the whole thing, saying, “Interesting choice, can’t wait.” And it’s easy to see why. The decision to hold the event in Kingston carries significance—it’s more than Jamaica’s history in track and field; it provides an opportunity for the nation to establish a future centered on this sports discipline.

One fan excitedly commented, “This gone be good Boom Boom Boom Let’s Go 💨💨💨💨“—and they’re not wrong! It’s truly going to be an electrifying event. Jamaica, despite its small size and limited track facilities, has long been known for producing some of the fastest athletes, both men and women.

There’s a saying in Jamaica: “We likkle, but we tallawah,” which translates to, “We may be small, but we are strong, we are mighty, and we can do anything.” It’s a sentiment that’s proudly displayed on a billboard beside the Usain Bolt running track in Kingston, where world-class Jamaican athletes continue to train and pose a threat to the biggest names of the USA sprinting. One fan nailed it.

“Been us vs Jamaica for years. Bout damn time an international competition is held there.” And honestly, it feels like this rivalry just won’t quit. The U.S. and Jamaica have been dominating the 100m dash for years, and it’s clear this battle isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Since 1984, either a U.S. or Jamaican athlete has claimed Olympic gold in the event. While the U.S. has historically led the race, Jamaica’s been on fire lately, sweeping three of the last four Olympics.

One more fan put it perfectly, saying, “Jamaica 🇯🇲 deserves this honour. They have done exceptionally well in the last 20 years (give or take).” Another fan chimed in, “Time to establish ourselves as a Sports Capital.”

And honestly, they’ve got a point. Jamaica’s track and field athletes have been dominating the world stage for decades, yet the country hasn’t had the spotlight it deserves when it comes to hosting major international competitions—until now.  If the supporters turn up enthusiastically for the event, this could mark the beginning of a development paving the way for Kingston to emerge as a global destination for track and field activities in the future.