Currently, the track and field scene is undergoing an off-season. But, the moment 2025 comes, it will bring many events, including some that will debut in the year, including Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track. The sprint legend’s event has generated a ton of anticipation among the community, who will be expecting a ton of track action. But why did Johnson take the bold step of creating his own event?

The answer is simple: it was because of his love for the sport. Surely it has been a while since he retired from track and field, but Johnson admires it a lot and keeps track of all the ongoing events and the athletes. However, even if he took such a big decision, recently he opened up about the reason he pursued track events for GST and not field events.

One single difference between the two

Track and field, as the name goes, is divided into two segments. According to a report by Athletics Weekly, during an interview with the BBC, Michael Johnson stressed this major difference, stating, “Grand Slam Track is track; that is what we’re doing. I am going to save what I think I can save; I think I can save track; I don’t think I can save track and field.”

The sprint legend acknowledged that GST is all about sprinting, and while it is making a lot of headlines out there, this is just a major boost to only track and not field. “Based on today’s audience, if you were going to build a sport, then you would not build ‘track and field’ because it would not work. It doesn’t work to have four or five all in one and to then call it one sport, because that’s what track and field is,” Johnson opened up about the harsh reality of the sport he adores, giving a mindset of the current generation that is keen towards it.

Getting information on the audience that they are targeting is really crucial for any product or event to succeed. Johnson is aware of all those factors and is really keen that he is bringing GST as a one-of-a-kind track meet, which will happen four times in a single campaign. Surely, the sport’s complex nature is holding it back from getting the popularity of the other major leagues of other sports, but the track legend is confident about the vision he has with Grand Slam Track.

But how will GST stand out from other major track and field events? “We needed to get around a single narrative. Only the fastest is that narrative,” Johnson said. Furthermore, he called out a difficulty that he would’ve faced if he had considered keeping field events in GST, stating, “Whether we can ultimately create something for the field events for today’s audience is to be determined, and I’d love to be able to do that, but they are very different events.”

The moment the idea of a track meet came into his mind, he knew what to do. With his extensive expertise in the sport, he knew the kind of words that would attract a ton of attention out there, which eventually contributed to his amazing marketing tactic of bringing in the best of the best athletes around the world. Grand Slam Track is all about the community’s pleasure in watching the fastest men and women in the world race against each other. However, the concept of field events is very different and difficult to put into consideration, as it also requires an ample amount of attention for those it would be broadcast to.

Johnson has been very straightforward about his ambitions for the sport. He always wanted to reform it and make it more convenient for the newer audience, and he is on his way to getting that goal done. In recent times, the dates of all four slams of the track meet were announced, but for the last slam, the community was amazed as it collided with another major track event.

Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track to face major competition

Apart from announcing top athletes like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr, Kenny Bednarek, Fred Kerley, and more onto the roster of Grand Slam Track, many in the community awaited the dates because there are a ton of events in the 2025 campaign. Eventually, the dates became official as the first slam would take place in Kingston from April 4-6, which will be followed by the second slam in Miramar from May 2-4, and then the third in Philadelphia from May 30 to June 1.

However, from June 27-29, the fourth slam would take place in Los Angeles, which would decide the winners of the respective categories. While the announcement caught the attention of many, the dates were the ones that troubled the community. But why was that? On June 29, the New York City Grand Prix will take place that has featured many major athletes in recent years, and this would provide a big competition for Michael Johnson, as it will be a debut for GST. However, the track legend is no stranger to challenge, and he wouldn’t mind a few complications here and there. He knows about the anticipation Grand Slam Track has generated over the past months, and he hopes that it will just increase in the coming days leading up to the debut of the event.