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Director of Athletes and Racing at Grand Slam reveals all about the new league
As Michael Johnson’s new track league approaches, excitement is building for the first Slam, which will kick off in Kingston, Jamaica, from April 4-6. To get a better understanding of what this league has to offer, we reached out to AW readers to gather their burning questions about the event that promises to revolutionize the sport of track and field.
What we already know is that athletes at Grand Slam Track are classified as either Racers and Challengers and are assigned to compete in one of the following categories: short sprints (100m/200m), short hurdles (100m hurdles or 110m hurdles/100m), long sprints (200m/400m), long hurdles (400H/400m), middle distance (800m/1500m), or long distance (3000m/5000m).
Each Slam event will showcase consist of four Racers who are contracted to the league’s four Slams: Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. They will go up against different Challengers during each Slam, who are compensated with an appearance fee, and will compete for full prize money.
The winner of each Slam group will take home $100,000 in prize money and the eighth place competitor will earn $10,000.
A total of 96 athletes will compete in the league, with 48 Grand Slam Track Racers, who collectively earned 34 Olympic medals at the Paris 2024 Games, facing off against 48 challengers.
To dive deeper into what fans can expect, we sat down with Kyle Merber, a former middle-distance runner and the Director of Racing and Athletes for Grand Slam Track and asked him a range of questions asked by our AW followers across social media platforms.
Michael Johnson (Grand Slam Track)
How were the events chosen?
A lot of things went into it prior to them being finalized. But I think ultimately the format obviously values being the fastest, right? That’s the most important thing but also having a range and being able to perform consistently across multiple events. I think the combination of having two race distances provides a little bit more jeopardy for the racers.
I think the combination of having two events creates intriguing match-ups, things that maybe fans haven’t necessarily seen before and ultimately sparks more debate and conversation amongst the fans.
Can a Challenger compete in multiple slams?
There is no official rule saying that a challenger can’t compete in more than one Slam. I think if you keep winning, then you’re welcome to keep coming back and will certainly be invited.
I think from my philosophy standpoint is that we do want to see a narrative of Challengers across the entire season. A really strong point in the format is having that opportunity to bring in those who are racing well, and the up and coming or the new rivalries and just seeing something different each time out. We’ll see a lot of fresh faces but there’s certainly some Challengers I already know that are going to be consistently there.
What did you look for when selecting Challengers?
How fast are you? That’s certainly important.
It’s looking at personal bests, it’s looking at medals, it’s looking at rivalries, it’s momentum. The most important thing is who the fans want to see and we’re ultimately trying to put a great product out on the track. Agents propose their athletes to us and we consider and how to put together the best field possible.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Getty)
What happens if a Racer/Challenger gets injured mid season?
The Racers are committed contractually to do all four Slams but of course, as is nature in the sport, there will be hiccups along the way. If that does happen, then we simply add an extra Challenger. So, you’d have five Challengers as opposed to four. If someone gets hurt two days before then we’ll do our absolute best to always have an alternate Challenger ready to go, to try to fill every lane possible.
If an athlete gets injured, say in the first race and is not available to do the second, we’re not going to force someone to step out there and limp through a race. We won’t necessarily fill that lane if it’s ahead of the second race in the weekend.
Can athletes qualify as Challengers halfway through the Slam season?
Yeah, of course. I think particularly in Kingston, it’s early in the year so we’re going to have a lot of Challengers who are being selected based off of their performance last year.
Then you have others that we’ve seen already come out during the indoor season and run super well and immediately start the year off with a bang. But Philadelphia and Los Angeles Slams are so far away. It’s something that we’ve heard a lot of athletes already talk about as being one of their goals this season is to run well early enough to ultimately be able to attend a Slam and compete.
Will there be a new selection of Challengers every year?
There is no specific pool. There is certainly a depth chart and there’s a lot of scouting involved of who’s running well. I pour through lots of race results and I also think a really important thing is watching the races because you might see the times on paper, but the way things actually play out tells you a bit of a story as well.
Every year in every Slam will be a complete new fresh slate and an opportunity for athletes to come in and be Challengers. I actually think a really exciting prospect is the opportunity to introduce certain competitors to the fan base of the sport through Grand Slam Track.
Josh Kerr, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse (Getty)
Do Challengers get paid and if so, how much?
All challengers get paid and they get paid the same amount across the board. They all receive $2000 as an appearance fee, with eight athletes in the field and eighth place being given $10,000 so ultimately it’s a guaranteed $12,000. Most athletes, when they’re stepping on the line, aren’t thinking about coming in eighth place, they’re probably thinking about that $100,000 first prize and all Challengers, of course, have that opportunity to win.
Racers are paid a base compensation based on their value that is established at the start of the season.
Will Grand Slam Track ever come to the UK?
It’s probably a better question for our commissioner [Michael Johnson] than myself, but given the amazing fandom in the UK and the support that we’ve seen consistently I think it’s a great potential location. But that’s going to be MJ’s ultimate decision.
Where will it be broadcasted for UK fans to watch?
UK viewers are going to be able to watch on TNT sports, which we just announced and are really excited. It’s such an important thing, particularly in the first year, to make it accessible and having the opportunity for fans to be able to actually watch.
Are there any plans to bring in any other events in the future?
There are no immediate plans. There are lots of fun and different combinations to theorize about and to have a fun chat with at the bar with your friends but right now we are focused on the current format and events as structured.
Olympic 400m final (Getty)
Was there a reason to host four Slams, did you consider any other number?
You do see that it works really well in tennis and golf. I think it’s a good starting point and particularly for our Racers who have never had to commit to such a series of meets one after another. It’s something that they were excited to do and it’s something that we’ve heard consistently from our Racers.
It’s really nice to know your schedule at the start of the season and I know the coaches really like to plan backwards.
Would you consider introducing more than four Slams in the future?
There’s definitely conversations and the potential to one day expand but right now it’s really just heads down and focused on putting on four great meets this year.
How will the league propel the sport and attract new viewers?
We know the sport already has a huge fan base, right? We see it every single Olympic cycle, every four years and I think the goal of Grand Slam Track is to essentially knock down some of those barriers of those fans who only come every four years and try to grab their attention in between a bit more.
That starts with making track more accessible for fans, both in terms of knowing how and when and where to watch. Also, being able to guarantee who is going to be there and having the best athletes committed to race each other regularly is a huge unlock for us.
It builds a lot of intriguing rivalries and matchups that I think ultimately will make current fans very happy and continue to bring in those that only come every four years. The sport is so often enjoyed in retrospect, you see the results and then you go back and rewatch the race after having already heard what’s going to happen. I think we’d like to be able to have the fans enjoy the excitement of the sport in real time, watching it unfold live.
Gabby Thomas (Getty)
Will we see analysis and athlete interviews throughout the TV coverage?
Yeah, definitely. I’m super committed to not only having great races showcased, but providing an entertaining TV product. One of the biggest advantages of having Grand Slam Track in this format is to have access to the athletes and the information that we can provide to the production side.
A huge aspect of what we’re doing is we have contractual obligations of athletes to make themselves available for behind the scenes, storytelling and interviews, and to provide fans watching at home a bit more context about who they are and what they’re watching and therefore giving them greater rooting interest.
Will athletes have walkout songs?
In general, music was super important to the league and creating the environment of the local cultures of where each Slam is located. We definitely have some cool ways that we’re going to integrate it into the event. You’ll have to tune in or come watch to see, but it’s going to be fun.
Jess Hull (Getty)
Why did you decide on the 800m/1500m Slam instead of 400m/800m?
The 800m/1500m is a more traditional double. I can think of a lot of great British athletes that were certainly good at both the 800m and the 1500m.
No matter what event combination is across the board, it’d feel like it’s the perfect fit for one athlete and probably not for another. I think the 800m/1500m is probably the event that we’ve seen the most chatter about online.
It brings together such a unique diversity of talent and you see matchups again that you would never see. We’re seeing top athletes clash that don’t line up versus one another ever. Particularly in Kingston, we have one, two, three in the 1500m and then you have announced already one, two, four from the Paris 800m. So there’s a lot of curiosity.
We’re seeing a lot of athletes who don’t even have a 1500m personal best to their name who are going to now have one in a month. I say this as a former 1500m runner, for the the 800m, the 1500m guys are going to be able to run a lot faster than I think people realize.
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