World Athletics president says governing body is monitoring developments at Grand Slam Track as athletes await payment
World Athletics president Seb Coe has revealed that the global governing body is closely monitoring the outstanding payments due to athletes from Grand Slam Track.
Speaking before the London Diamond League and asked about the project which began this year to much fanfare but has created headlines for the wrong reasons more recently, Coe said: “There is no point in pretending this is a satisfactory situation.” He added: “It’s not good. The one thing that World Athletics has always stood strongly behind is the athletes.”
Last month, the fourth and final event of the Grand Slam Track Series spearheaded by Michael Johnson that had been scheduled to take place in Los Angeles was cancelled due to reported financial issues. At the time, Johnson said that the global economic landscape had “shifted dramatically” in the past year and the move to curtail Grand Slam Track’s season was a “business decision” to ensure the league’s “long-term stability as the world’s premier track league”.
Multiple reports followed that Grand Slam Track still owed millions of dollars to athletes who competed in the Kingston, Miami and Philadelphia Slams, with only the appearance fees for the initial meet in Kingston believed to have been paid. As recently as July 5, Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas – who raced in the first three events – commented on a Grand Slam Track social media post by saying: “So dope!! Pls pay me.”
Coe added: “For these things to work, they can’t be vanity projects. They have to be suffused in practicality and deliverability. I just want the events that are going to add lustre, that we can find space for, and we will encourage them to at least have the courtesy of spending that kind of time and that kind of effort, both intellectual and resource, in making sure they work.”
Coe has publicly supported Johnson’s event, viewing it as a positive development for the sport. That backing extended to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the governing body and Grand Slam Track, which outlined a common understanding of objectives for the series.
“I welcomed Grand Slam Track,” Coe said. “In the early phases, Jon [World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon] and I were very clear, both internally to our teams and externally, that it was in everybody’s interest for something like this to be successful.
“We’re not the ‘computer says no’ command-and-control federation. If there are sources of income and potential commercial partnerships that are being accessed, we spend our time looking at these same places.
“From the very moment I became president of World Athletics, I talked about the need to be more creative and and not shy away from forming those relationships. So we were very clear that this had to be done properly and executed properly.”
Coe revealed that he has spoken to individual athletes, their representatives and meeting directors about Grand Slam Track. He, however, hasn’t spoken to Johnson for “several months”. Asked if World Athletics had the power to intervene on the athletes’ behalf, he said: “Well, let’s just watch this space.”
World Athletics do emphasise that, due to testing procedures by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), it’s not unusual for athletes to be paid prize money a couple of months after competing.
“In terms of the levers we could pull, we wanted to be as supportive as possible,” said Ridgeon. “So we gave them really high world ranking points, alongside the prize money they were offering, to make sure the events were as attractive as possible.
“We want more high-profile events where the athletes can compete, the fans can watch, athletes can make money. It’s all good, but obviously we want them in a sustainable way. In Michael’s defence, because clearly he is facing some challenges at the moment, it just shows you how hard it is to launch new stuff. In any sport, in any sport, it’s really hard.
“Grand Slam Track has asked for some time. Obviously, everyone’s going to give them that time. And hopefully, in that time, this [situation] concludes.”
Grand Slam Track declined to comment but it is understood they plan to make payments for the Kingston Slam prize money before the end of July and the remaining payments by the end of September, which includes the honouring of Los Angeles appearance fees.
World Athletics is launching their own start-up event – the World Ultimate Championship – next year, which will see 26 world champions from Tokyo, 25 Diamond League winners in 2026 and the next best performers on the rankings next season compete in Budapest.
The made-for-TV event will see athletes take part in eight track and five field disciplines, as well as a mixed 4x100m and 4x400m relay. Each winner will receive $150,000 and the overall prize pot is $10m.
When asked about what lessons he could take from Grand Slam Track to apply to the World Ultimate Championship, Coe’s immediate response was: “Execution. Execution and delivery.”