Thoughts on the New Track League
by Steve McGill

In last month’s issue of The Hurdle Magazine, Melinda Burris wrote an article in which she provided details about the new Grand Slam Track league that will be started up by former legend and Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson. In this article, I would like to provide my own insights about Johnson’s project in regards to its pros and cons and possibility for long-term success. 

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First of all, I think it’s a great idea, and I hope it works. Johnson has been saying for years that the sport needs to find ways to make itself more marketable and accessible to the casual fans, and this new league is definitely a way to do that, particularly for American audiences, who tend to have short attention spans and are used to digesting their sporting events in 2 or 3-hour windows. Each of these Grand Slam meets will take place over a period of three days, with each of the athletes (GST Racers) expected to participate in two events. Since Johnson has been able to raise a lot of money, and will be paying event winners $100,000, you can be sure that these meets will spark a lot of interest in track, and could be the springboard to a new era in how track is presented to the public.

One of the bigger issues I’ve heard brought up in regards to the new league is that it’s strictly devoted to track, with no field events included. All over the world except in the United States, the sport is referred to as Athletics, which implies that all the events go together. Here, we call it Track & Field, which implies two separate sports that have been put together. So, on the surface, Johnson’s decision to only include track seems unfair, as he’s cutting off half the sport, and excluding field event athletes from having equal opportunity to earn the lucrative prize money that the track athletes have access to. But one of the ongoing issues with the sport, going back to the beginning of time, basically, is that track events and field events taking place at the same time causes confusion, especially for the casual fan. Even for the track addicts of the world, it’s hard to keep up with everything going on at a meet. There could be loud applause for a pole vaulter in one corner of the stadium while a 100 meter dash final is about to take place on the opposite side. So what are fans supposed to focus on? And considering that Johnson’s meets are made-for-TV events, we’ve already seen via Olympic coverage, etc., how difficult it is when the broadcast keeps switching back and forth between the field and the track, sometimes totally ignoring parts of a distance race in order to provide field event coverage.

Here’s my take: by starting this league, Johnson is doing a whole lot more for the sport than anybody else is doing. Why can’t someone else follow his lead and create something similar for the field events? Or partner with him in some manner so that both halves of the sport are fully recognized? If Johnson were to add field events to the Grand Slam league, that would mean less prize money per athlete overall, which would undermine one of the key incentives for athletes to join. 

Meanwhile, one thing I’ve observed over the years is that leagues like this one, though quite difficult to get started, or even harder to keep going. Yes, Johnson has raised a lot of capital and has garnered significant corporate sponsorship, and yes he has gathered major star power (aka Sydney McLauglin) that will draw big crowds and television audiences. But history says these types of leagues don’t last long. The problem with track, even when compared to other individual sports like tennis and golf, is that it is an Olympic sport. Meaning, the height of competition is the Olympic Games. Golf has the US Open, the British Open, etc. Tennis has the US Open, Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Open. Winning one of these major events is considered a bigger achievement than winning an Olympic Gold medal. Such is not the case for track. Maybe Johnson’s league, which consists of four major meets, can get to that level at some point in its evolution. And maybe prize money will be the reason why. In order for that to happen, the prize money will need to increase every year, the corporate sponsors will need to stay convinced that the league is worth their investment, and the athletes will need to eventually prioritize the Grand Slam meets over the Olympic Games. I’m not sure that could ever happen, as Track & Field’s entire history is linked to the Olympic Games being the peak of competition. 

Also, when I was researching my book on Rodney Milburn years ago, I learned about the International Track Association (ITA), a professional league that took root after the 1972 Olympics, but ceased to exist before the next Olympics. Milburn joined the ITA in 1974, made a few pennies, lost his amateur status, and was ineligible to compete in the 1976 Olympics. Athletes today won’t have to worry about being banned as professionals, but if the GST league doesn’t survive, that would be a major blow to the sport as it would further prove that a legitimate professional track league isn’t sustainable.

So the GST will hold four meets in its inaugural season — one in April, two in May, and one in late June. The first one will take place in Jamaica, and the last three will take place on American soil (Miami, Philly, LA). The timing of the meets means they won’t interfere with national championships, and the first few will actually help athletes prepare for the national championships. Also, there will be no conflicts with World Championships or Diamond League meets. As a result, athletes will not only have ample opportunity to earn money in the GST meets, but they also won’t lose opportunities to earn money on the international circuit.

I would argue that having more meets featuring big-name athletes on American soil is always a good thing.  Most American sports fans are kind of ignorant when it comes to track (as evidenced by the high volume of dumb questions I receive every Olympic year), so these meets could definitely serve as a source of education. 

Each of the GST Racers is expected in Two events per athlete in each GST meet, and each meet will take place over a period of three days. For fans this is cool because it allows us to see our favorite athletes compete twice in the same meet. For athletes, though, this could be an issue. While fans might want to see Sydney race the 400 hurdles and the open 400, she might not want to do both in the same meet. And if Freddie Crittenden is competing in the 110 meter hurdles, I don’t necessarily want to see him in the 100 meter dash, since he’ll probably get smoked by the guys who run the 100 for a living. But in the big picture, that’s a minor issue, and it’s one that can be adjusted in future years if need be.

All in all, I’m excited about this new league, and I’m eager to see these athletes compete head to head.

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