Everyone knows Michael Johnson, one of many best athletes within the historical past of observe and discipline and sports activities normally.
Simply as a reminder, he received 4 Olympic gold medals (within the 200m, 400m and 4x400m) and eight World Championships gold medals (in the identical disciplines).
He set a 200m World Report in 1996 that will take Usain Bolt 14 years to interrupt. Wayde van Niekerk took nearly 17 years to interrupt Johnson’s 200m report.
Michael has been concerned with observe and discipline a very long time since he stopped being a aggressive athlete. Since 2001 he’s a pundit for the BBC, the place he covers a wide range of observe and discipline occasions, together with the Olympics.
Pre-announcing a brand new observe league
Again in February, Michael Johnson introduced this on his social media:
BIG issues coming to skilled observe & discipline!!! https://t.co/NVTfI6tVfw pic.twitter.com/yZjVnBjyxM
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) February 27, 2024
“Simply needed to let you already know about mynew observe enterprise. I teamed up with some nice companions and collectively we’re making the most important funding ever into skilled observe and discipline, to construct knowledgeable, actually fans-focused league that can unlock probably the most worth for the very best observe and discipline athletes on the planet.”
He then linked to an article on Sportico with extra particulars.
The promise
This February announcement got here with some details about the brand new league, however not every thing. These had been the details:
- Observe and Discipline has a really massive following, however solely throughout occasions such because the Olympics and the World Championships;
- Followers wrestle to observe their favourite athletes due to irregular TV protection;
- Athletes face monetary difficulties to maintain their careers;
- Winners Alliance is the accomplice on this enterprise, already making the most important funding in observe and discipline historical past (in April we discovered this determine to be $30M);
- They’ll create a brand new league in 2025;
- The league can have a format that’s TV and fan pleasant;
- It is going to concentrate on the athletes, making an attempt to raise their standing globally;
- It is going to have good prizes for the winners.
Within the meantime
Within the meantime, Johnson has used his social media to highlights a few of the points the athletes (and observe and discipline as a sport) are dealing with within the present scenario.
He’s additionally been sharing messages from different protagonists of the sports activities who are also apprehensive for the state of observe and discipline.
There’s this interview with Usain Bolt, the place he says “observe and discipline wants the eye as a result of I believe our sport goes beneath the radar.”
“Observe and discipline wants the eye as a result of I believe our sport goes beneath the radar.”
An interview with @usainbolt in Jamaica 🇯🇲
💬 Why observe and discipline must evolve and there must be a change of surroundings
⚡️ Praises @LylesNoah on making an attempt to do various things and recommendation… pic.twitter.com/nhFt3aLzh9
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 22, 2024
Or when he retweeted Noah Lyles, asking “I haven’t seen one industrial for the Observe & Discipline Olympic trials. Is it simply me?”.
I haven’t see one industrial for the T&F Olympic trials. Is that simply me?
— Noah Lyles, OLY (@LylesNoah) March 29, 2024
One other factor that occurred on this time, is World Athletics declaring, in April, that they may supply $50k per gold medal received in Paris, and it’s planning to increase prize cash to silver and bronze beginning on the LA 2028 sport.
Lastly, enter the Grand Slam Observe
Michael Johnson has lastly revealed the main points of the brand new league – referred to as Grand Slam Observe – this week.
That is the way it will work.
- The league can have 4 meets, referred to as “Slams”.
- 2 Slams might be within the US, 2 elsewhere.
- There might be 96 athletes concerned in every Slam.
- Grand Slam Observe (GST) will contract 48 athletes as “core racers”.
- The Core Racers will obtain an annual base compensation from the League and clearly might be competing for prize cash.
- The opposite 48 athletes might be chosen occasion by occasion primarily based on current efficiency and fascinating matchups. They’re referred to as “Challengers”.
- Challengers will obtain an look charge for every Slam they take part in, plus are eligible to win the total prize cash.
What occasions might be within the Grand Slam Observe?
Let’s now take a look at the occasion classes:
- Quick sprints – 100m / 200m
- Quick hurdles – 100m hurdles (F) or 110m hurdles (M) / 100 meters
- Lengthy sprints – 200m / 400m
- Lengthy hurdles – 400m hurdles / 400m
- Quick distance – 800m / 1500m
- Lengthy distance – 3000m/5000m
As you discover, there aren’t any discipline occasions (no leaping, no throwing). We’ll come again to this later.
Every athlete will compete (over 2 days) within the two races of their occasion class.
So in the event you race the 100m, you additionally race the 200m. When you race the 400 hurdles, you additionally run the 400 flat.
That is the half I’m not so certain about. However positively it’s an innovation.
The ultimate placement for the Slam would be the sum of the factors achieved in every of their two races. Factors are assigned as follows:
- First place – 10 factors
- Second place – 8 factors
- Third place – 6 factors
- Fourth place – 5 factors
- Fifth place – 4 factors
- Sixth place – 3 factors
- Seventh place – 2 factors
- Eighth place – 1 level
In case of a tie, the whole time of the 2 races mixed counts, and (you guessed it) the quickest one wins.
What about prize cash?
The winner of every Slam class will earn $100,000. That’s actually an order of magnitude larger than what the Diamond League gives their winners: $10,000.
Every Slam is unbiased and doesn’t carry over factors or instances or placements to successive Slam occasions.
No discipline occasions in any respect
Michael Johnson has been requested about it, and his reasoning is evident.
There must be one occasion at a time, with all the eye going to it. Presently, discipline occasions happen concurrently the observe occasions, and solely highlights or the very remaining levels of a race are actually proven to viewers.
For the reason that Grand Slam Observe is supposed to be a 2:30 – 3 hour occasion, there is no such thing as a time to concentrate on leaping and throwing.
This has the potential to be massive
Other than the Olympics, World Championships and regional Championships (such because the European Championships that simply concluded final week), the most important observe and discipline stars compete annually within the Diamond League.
The difficulty with the Diamond League is that not each “champion” participates in all occasions. There’ll all the time be massive names collaborating, however very hardly ever there might be actual aggressive match-ups.
By contracting (doubtlessly) the 4 greatest athletes in every occasion class, followers know that every of the Slams can have 4 of the very best competing in opposition to one another – in a contest for actual cash, the place outcomes depend. Plus 4 different elite athletes chosen for every occasion.
Grand Slam Observe remains to be on the lookout for streaming or broadcasting companions. Or if they’ve discovered them already, they haven’t introduced it.
Every “day” of a Slam might be two and a half to a few hours lengthy.
Different fascinating issues
– No pacers or tempo lights. It’s concerning the competitors, not the instances.
– No bibs, no security pins!
– Racers can have their very own sponsored equipment – not their nationwide or their membership equipment. That is extraordinarily fascinating for the sponsor.
Personally, as a large observe fan, I look ahead to these Slams. I consider the important thing would be the capability to certainly enroll the athletes that individuals need to watch, for the rivalries that make this sport nice.
I’m unhappy to see no discipline occasion included – however I consider if this enterprise is profitable, each for the athletes, the followers and the league, possibly new Slams might be created or perhaps a league for then (Grand Slam Discipline? You’re welcome Michael Johnson).
Are you a observe fan? What do you consider the Grand Slam Observe?
