The track and field world is on fire this year! Fresh off the adrenaline rush of the Paris Olympics, the sport turned another corner with Athlos—the first-ever all women’s track event that blew everyone’s expectations out of the water. Six races, a massive $500,000 prize pool, and top winners pocketing $60,000 each? Yes, please! Unsurprisingly, about 3 million fans tuned in for this epic showdown. And with the buzz still ringing, another blockbuster event is on the horizon, ready to celebrate the rich, fast-paced history of track and field.

Michael Johnson announced his version of the track and field spectacle, the Grand Slam Track. Inspired by the four Grand Slams of tennis, the proposed track event too will have a total of four events spanning from April to September. A major highlight of the event is definitely its high pay. At a time when the issue of underpayment of the athletes is wreaking havoc, GST is promising a whopping payment in the range of $100,000 to $10,000. 

As per their latest press release, the final battle lines seem to have been drawn with the first event scheduled for April 4-6. And what better place to have the three-day hype fest for the first time than Jamaica? According to Johnson, owing to the rich history of the sport in the Jamaican islands, the organizers were fixated on kicking off things in the land of Olympic legend, Usain Bolt. Johnson stated to the Jamaican Observer, “Jamaica has such a strong history in this sport. The talent and love for the sport here make it a perfect fit for what we’re building.” However, the path to glory was not a smooth one. 

The Jamaican National Stadium is 60 years old and is due for renovation. Adding to the woes, there have been significant concerns regarding the running track and the arrangement of lights inside the stadium. However, despite the lingering question marks, Olivia Grange, Minister of Sports in Jamaica, sounded positive. Reflecting on the matter, Grange stated that the stadium would be ready just in time to host the incredible event. She said, “This is a chance for us to be part of something huge, bringing top athletes to our track and helping the sport [to] grow in a new and exciting way.”

Now then, there had been some significant controversies brewing at the National Stadium. Back in March, the fourth day of the Boys and Girls Athletics Championship suffered a forced delay due to unplayable track conditions. There were issues with the lights too, especially during the CONCACAF Men’s and Women’s club matches and even at the World Cup qualifiers. Thus, with a great deal of trust being vested by Michael Johnson, Jamaica will surely need to pull their socks up now. Meanwhile, as revolutionary as the event is, the GST has had its share of controversy too.

Alexis Ohanian lashes out at GST’s latest policy 

Both the Grand Slam Track and the Athlos are supposed to be the sides of the same coin. Because both events event aims at bringing an unprecedented revolution in the realm of track and field. Thus, in an ideal world, these two events are expected to have mutual recognition. Unfortunately, that is not the case in reality. The GST authorities have added a controversial clause to the contracts of the registered GST athletes. 

The athletes will have to obtain permission if they want to participate in other similar events. And this included Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos. Now, such a rule meant that the athletes were bound to pick a side and stick with it. However, it can affect the sport in the long run. While Athlos saw the likes of Gabby Douglas take centerstage, GST will feature the 400m hurdles legend Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Thus, according to Ohanian, the interaction of both the athletes in Athlos and GST is important for the overall growth of the sport. 

Expressing his frustration at the rule, Alexis Ohanian stated, “Hey, @MJGold I loved seeing you + @BillAckman Follow @ATHLOS by launching @GrandSlamTrack (great to see more people investing in athletics! ), but it’s disappointing you’re requiring these women to get permission from you & Bill in order to compete in other leagues. It’s not very athlete-friendly.” Following the call-out, Michael Johnson tried to put things into perspective.

Meanwhile, the event organizers fired back with a bold statement, skipping names but clearly calling out the drama. In their official response, GST didn’t mince words: “It’s unfortunate that in this pivotal moment to elevate the sport, there are some newcomers who think the way to do this is to create controversy through distortions.” And there’s more!

In a candid chat with Cole Hocker, Johnson added his two cents: “Races mean something. It means something to you guys. But you know, we have to make sure that the fans understand how hard it is to go out there and win.” He stopped short of explaining if this was the reason behind the divisive new rule. So, as this new era of track and field takes off, it’s anyone’s guess how the heavyweights will play their hand to make those giant strides in the sport’s global expansion.