Grand Slam Track risks ‘dangerous precedent’ over unpaid athlete debts

Grand Slam Track, the competition backed by Olympic great Michael Johnson, has been urged to settle debts owed to athletes who took part last year or risk setting a “dangerous precedent”.

Its inaugural season promised lucrative prize money and salaries for contracted runners, but its final event was cancelled with organisers later voluntarily filing for bankruptcy in the USA.

That move left many big names out of pocket, including women’s 400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone who is owed $268,750 (£196,000).

The Association of Athletics Managers (AAM), which represents a number of stars, says GST now risks undermining trust in the sport having requested $400,000 (£292,000) as part of its court-supervised reorganisation to pay for “athlete recruitment” for a 2026 season.

The AAM is calling for GST to “immediately prioritise” the repayment of all outstanding debts – which it claims total in excess of $30m (£11.8m) to more than 150 athletes and companies – “before attempting to stage additional events”.

The BBC has approached GST for comment.

In a statement last month, it said it would use the bankruptcy process “to stabilise its finances, implement a more efficient cost and operating model, and position GST for long-term success”.