Rai Benjamin Slams Michael Johnson After Hunter & Tara Davis-Woodhall Expose Track and Field Legend

When Michael Johnson proposed his 2025 Grand Slam Track event, he probably didn’t expect to stir up this much drama. The idea? To “save track,” but not “track and field.” Sounds pretty bold, right? But here’s the twist: Tara Davis-Woodhall, the Olympic long jump champ, is livid because field events are completely left out. And she’s not holding back, calling it not just unfair, but downright wrong. But here’s where it gets interesting, months later, Rai Benjamin too gets into controversy siding with the 25-year-old. Suddenly, what seemed like a game-changing plan for the track has turned into a full-on debate about fairness in the sport.

Johnson, a former track and field athlete with 4 gold medals, features races in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. With a $100,000 prize per discipline, the event promises thrilling track races, from sprints to long-distance events. However, what’s notably missing are field events—no jumping or throwing disciplines. Johnson has defended this decision, saying it’s a practical choice. “Field events take long hours to conclude and would not be ideal for TV coverage,” Johnson explained.

However, not everyone is on board with Michael Johnson’s vision. In a recent episode of the Beyond The Records Podcast on YouTube, the debate heated up between Olympic medalist Rai Benjamin, sprinter Noah Lyles, and field athletes like Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall. Benjamin didn’t hold back in expressing his frustration. He argued that excluding field events is harmful to the sport’s growth and community. “It’s that gatekeeping, man,” Benjamin said, adding, “I feel like the old heads are just trying to push what they know or what they knew back in 1995. Yeah, like it’s 2024, dude. Like, we need fresh ideas. We need unorthodox people like you guys.” He was indirectly firing at Johnson!

Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall, also vocal on the podcast, share Benjamin’s concerns. For them, it’s not just about the inclusion of field events—it’s about the future of the sport. Benjamin’s comment hit hard: “Are you guys doing the research? You guys are easily like an, like, 2 million plus...” It’s clear that the decision to leave field events out of Grand Slam Track has sparked more than just a disagreement. But Tara believes the field events don’t need Johnson!

Tara Davis-Woodhall speaks out against Michael Johnson’s track-only vision

Back at the end of November 2024, reigning Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall didn’t hold back after hearing Michael Johnson’s reasoning for leaving field events out of his Grand Slam Track League. In a heated video shared with her husband, Hunter Woodhall, Tara slammed Johnson for trying to “save” the sport by focusing only on track events.

She argued that the sport is called “track and field” for a reason and that Johnson shouldn’t try to alter it to fit his own vision. She emphasized that the sport doesn’t need saving, and field events play a crucial role in its success. Tara pointed out that if Johnson had truly wanted to change the sport, he would have done so during his active career. Instead, she felt he had stepped away from the sport, and now, his time had passed. “The sport does not need you,” she concluded firmly.

Hunter Woodhall didn’t hold back either, echoing his wife’s frustration and calling out Johnson for trying to gain popularity through wild claims. He criticized Johnson for returning to the sport with a self-important attitude, stating that no one really cared about his opinions and that track and field was doing just fine. He also pointed out that the recent Olympics were great and proved the sport’s strength. The couple’s comments followed Johnson’s interview with BBC Sport, where he explained that his focus would be solely on saving track, not the entire sport of track and field.

Johnson justified why he excluded field events from his choice saying they are very time-consuming and cannot be completed before the coverage. He further explained that track and field are compatible at the Olympics and World Championship, but they cannot form a professional sport besides those competitions. As such, his track events-only Grand Slam Track League would comprise track events. 

What do you think about Johnson’s claims? Let us know in the comments below.