After Los Angeles event cancellation, Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track under fire again over unpaid athlete prizes

Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track is under fire as the league is yet to pay the fees of the athletes who competed in the tournament. Johnson's inaugural GST event featured a massive $12.6 million prize money, with each slam winner receiving $100,000.

However, according to recent reports, several athletes have claimed that they have not received their fees even for the inaugural stop of the league in Kingston. Some of the athletes have also shared this case with the chief governing body for track and field, World Athletics.

It is worth mentioning that the final stop of the GST, which was scheduled to be held in Los Angeles, was also cancelled due to economic reasons, and the league was forced to conclude after three events. Amidst this, GST executive Kyle Merbe shared an email that states that the league plans to pay the Kingston prize money by July and complete the other payments by September. The mail stated (via The Times):

"We’d like to provide the following update regarding payments for the athletes who competed in Grand Slam Track events this year. Our plan is to make payments for Kingston prize money before the end of July and the remaining payments due by the end of September, which includes the honouring of Los Angeles appearance fees."

The debut event of Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track saw several top athletes like Gabby Thomas, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and Kenny Bednarek emerge as winners of the competition in different categories.

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"We could not be more excited about what we have accomplished so far": Michael Johnson on the outcomes of Grand Slam Track League's debut

Michael Johnson (Image via: Getty)

Michael Johnson shed light on the outcomes of his Grand Slam Track League's debut. Speaking in an interview after the cancellation of the fourth stop of GST, Johnson shared that the league has been able to accomplish several of the aspirations it had set at the start of the event.

He added that the league shall also learn from its faults and strive towards the betterment of the event. Johnson said (via BBC):

"We launched with a bold vision to reimagine professional track racing and we could not be more excited about what we have accomplished so far. As we've said all along, we were going to have learnings, make adjustments, and continue to improve."

Michael Johnson also added that the cancellation of the LA event was not a comfortable decision. However, it was taken keeping in mind the future and sustainability of the league.