Currently, track and field is going through an off-season. The community is eagerly anticipating the official start of the 2025 campaign, which will feature numerous major events, including a new event that has captured the attention of many people. So which event is it? Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track has garnered a ton of anticipation, as it will feature “only the fastest,” according to their tagline. However, there’s no sign of either Noah Lyles or Sha’Carri Richardson in the event.

Indeed, this particular reason has sparked plenty of debate in the track community for not having the 100m Olympic champion and the 100m Olympic silver medalist herself. Recently, the league announced the final five athletes for the 48-racer roster, not having the names of the two American runners, which caused a significant uproar in the community.

Ready to race in Grand Slam Track

Apart from the 2025 Tokyo World Championships, Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track is considered to be a feast for the fans. The event will feature four slams throughout the year, starting in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia and ending in Los Angeles, California. While the dates and locations were announced later on, prior to the Olympic Games, GST already had plenty of notable names on the roster.

Up until now, the team has featured notable racers such as Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Josh Kerr, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, Oblique Seville, and numerous others. So, fans did think that eventually Johnson would be sending out a contract to Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson too, but the speculations didn’t go the way they were assumed.

On their official X profile, Grand Slam Track revealed the final five athletes on the roster, including Zharnel Hughes, Brittany Brown, Caleb Dean, Diribe Welteji, and Freddie Crittenden. Indeed, this was a big announcement, but also a surprising one. While all of these athletes have achieved a ton in their respective careers, the community still wanted to see Lyles and Richardson in the coveted event.

Surely, GST has a big roster of competitive athletes, but the absence of these two particularly might actually affect Johnson’s event in a vast way. While there was a ton of hype about the Grand Slam Track previously, Lyles didn’t show much of an interest due to a certain reason.

Noah Lyles falling into a weird spot

Days passed by, and there was no announcement from either GST or Noah Lyles about signing a contract with each other. One day, a fan, out of curiosity, wanted to know if the athlete would be running in the four slams or not. To answer this, the 100m Olympic champion replied on X, stating, “I will keep that in mind. Unfortunately, the track meet is already in a weird spot for my training. But I will definitely keep it in mind if we can make it work.”

The 27-year-old has his schedule to follow. For him, it’s a big season, as he would be looking forward to defending his two World Championship titles in the 100m and the 200m. So, his focus wasn’t much towards GST, despite all the anticipation it has generated.

Furthermore, the event wouldn’t be broadcast on local TV, which didn’t pique his interest like the others. Lyles is aware of the demand that GST is bringing, but he has his own thoughts, and as both of them didn’t reach any mutual agreement, it was evident that he didn’t become a part of it.