Michael Johnson sees ray of hope for track and field's future after a promising lineup of athletes headline the sport ft, Sha’Carri Richardson

Olympic Legend Michael Johnson has been a staunch supporter of track and field and actively participates in discussions regarding the sport and its future. He firmly believes that the sport deserves to be among the most popular events in the world like the NBA and the NFL.

Michael Johnson actively talks about the insights he received and methods that should be incorporated to make the sport reach a wider audience leading to the all-round development of the sport back to its initial glory. With decades of experience as an athlete, Johnson aims to bring about a holistic change in the track and field world by transforming the sport to be more fan-focused.

This includes being involved in the foundation of a new track and field league.

Johnson recently spoke about the future of track and field. With the Olympic games just around the corner, the track and field world witnessed some great performances in the early outdoor season in the Xiamen Diamond Leagues. The legendary athlete took to X to reveal that he was hopeful for the future of track and field with the current lineup of athletes as well as the upcoming generation.

"Track is in pretty good hands the next few years! NOW: Noah, Sydney, Sha’Carri, Karston, Shericka, Grant, Athing, Faith, Jakob. NEXT: Letsile, Rhasidat, Julian, Erryon, Yared. Who am I missing?," he tweeted.

From the new generation of athletes, Johson named Letsile Tebo, Erriyon Knighton, Julian Alfred, Yared Nuguse, and Rhasidat Adekele.

Michael Johnson criticizes the recent World Athletics Relays

Michael Johnson at the Laureus awards in Madrid

For a few years, Michael Johnson has been trying his best to improve the condition of track and field so that it reaches a wider audience and athletes receive the popularity they deserve. Despite several attempts to bring about changes in the professional circuit through his activism, he did not get the desired outcome.

Johnson took to Twitter to express his disappointment in the latest World Athletics Relays.

"World Relays is an example of a constant problem with track. Amazing event! But feels like the primary focus is providing an opportunity for athletes and federations, and fans are an after thought. Broadcast was poor and stands were half full for an event I believe the casual fan would find incredibly entertaining. But requires a fan focused strategy. Too much of track is structured as “this is our event for us”. Kind of like opening a restaurant set up to serve just your family and wondering why you have no customers," he wrote.

Johnson believes that unless an event is fan-focussed it will fail to reach a wider audience and become popular.