Athletics legend Michael Johnson has been told by the world’s leading athletics agents that they will not support any attempt to relaunch Grand Slam Track if the American and his colleagues first fail to pay the millions owed to athletes and other creditors.
The latest court filings show the Johnson-led venture owes in excess of $30million (about £22million), having lost significant financial backing after the first of its four events, in Jamaica last April, proved to be unsuccessful.
As The Times first reported, Johnson had to abandon plans for a fourth and final meeting in Los Angeles last June because of a lack of funds, leaving star athletes, their agents and vendors owed huge sums of money.
The American superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is still waiting for $356,250 in appearance and prize money, while Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, a world champion and double Olympic medal winner over 1,500m, is owed $218,750.
A company that provided broadcast services for the opening three meetings is sweating on more than $3million, with creditors furious that Johnson and his colleagues pressed on with staging the second and third events — in Miami and Philadelphia — knowing they might not have sufficient funds to pay their debts.
GST has already filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allows for reorganisation rather than liquidation, but creditors are growing increasingly worried that more drastic steps could be taken given the full extent of the financial crisis.
“GST intends to utilise the Chapter 11 [bankruptcy] process to stabilise its finances, implement a more efficient cost and operating model, and position GST for long-term success,” read a statement.
In response to viewing the most recent court documents filed as part of a bankruptcy suit, seen by The Times, the agents who act for the majority of the top stars in track and field have expressed their concern that GST is trying to have a second season of events without paying for the first.
In a statement issued to their athletes, the Association of Athletics Managers (AAM) said: “We were surprised to hear in the most recent creditor meeting that GST is already working towards a 2026 season. This has over $30million owed to over 150 athletes and more than 100 service vendors worldwide.
“In their request for $2.9million in debtor-in-possession financing from the bankruptcy court to cover their operating costs [salaries, marketing expenses, office expenses, etc.] for the next few months, GST included $400,000 for athlete recruitment for the 2026 season. This would all be funded prior to any other 2025 payments being made. The AAM does not support this approach.”
