Everyone knows Michael Johnson, one of many biggest athletes within the historical past of observe and discipline and sports activities usually.
Simply as a reminder, he gained 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 might take Usain Bolt 14 years to interrupt. Wayde van Niekerk took nearly 17 years to interrupt Johnson’s 200m file.
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 quite a lot 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 wished 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 an expert, really fans-focused league that can unlock essentially the most worth for the most effective observe and discipline athletes on this 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 the whole lot. These have been the details:
- Monitor and Discipline has a really massive following, however solely throughout occasions such because the Olympics and the World Championships;
- Followers battle to comply with their favourite athletes due to irregular TV protection;
- Athletes face monetary difficulties to maintain their careers;
- Winners Alliance is the companion on this enterprise, already making the biggest funding in observe and discipline historical past (in April we discovered this determine to be $30M);
- They may create a brand new league in 2025;
- The league could have a format that’s TV and fan pleasant;
- It’s going to give attention to the athletes, making an attempt to raise their standing globally;
- It’s going to have good prizes for the winners.
Within the meantime
Within the meantime, Johnson has used his social media to highlights a number of the points the athletes (and observe and discipline as a sport) are going through within the present state of affairs.
He’s additionally been sharing messages from different protagonists of the sports activities who are also frightened 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.”
“Monitor 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 business for the Monitor & Discipline Olympic trials. Is it simply me?”.
I haven’t see one business 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 are going to supply $50k per gold medal gained 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 Monitor
Michael Johnson has lastly revealed the small print of the brand new league – referred to as Grand Slam Monitor – this week.
That is the way it will work.
- The league could have 4 meets, referred to as “Slams”.
- 2 Slams can be within the US, 2 elsewhere.
- There can be 96 athletes concerned in every Slam.
- Grand Slam Monitor (GST) will contract 48 athletes as “core racers”.
- The Core Racers will obtain an annual base compensation from the League and clearly can be competing for prize cash.
- The opposite 48 athletes can be chosen occasion by occasion primarily based on current efficiency and fascinating matchups. They’re referred to as “Challengers”.
- Challengers will obtain an look price for every Slam they take part in, plus are eligible to win the total prize cash.
What occasions can be within the Grand Slam Monitor?
Let’s now take a look at the occasion classes:
- Brief sprints – 100m / 200m
- Brief hurdles – 100m hurdles (F) or 110m hurdles (M) / 100 meters
- Lengthy sprints – 200m / 400m
- Lengthy hurdles – 400m hurdles / 400m
- Brief distance – 800m / 1500m
- Lengthy distance – 3000m/5000m
As you discover, there are not 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. In the event you race the 400 hurdles, you additionally run the 400 flat.
That is the half I’m not so positive 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 full 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 greater than what the Diamond League affords their winners: $10,000.
Every Slam is impartial and doesn’t carry over factors or occasions 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 last phases of a race are actually proven to viewers.
For the reason that Grand Slam Monitor is supposed to be a 2:30 – 3 hour occasion, there isn’t a time to give attention to leaping and throwing.
This has the potential to be huge
Apart from 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 every year within the Diamond League.
The difficulty with the Diamond League is that not each “champion” participates in all occasions. There’ll at all times be huge names collaborating, however very hardly ever there can be actual aggressive match-ups.
By contracting (doubtlessly) the 4 greatest athletes in every occasion class, followers know that every of the Slams could have 4 of the most effective competing towards one another – in a contest for actual cash, the place outcomes depend. Plus 4 different elite athletes chosen for every occasion.
Grand Slam Monitor continues 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 can be two and a half to a few hours lengthy.
Different fascinating issues
– No pacers or tempo lights. It’s in regards to the competitors, not the occasions.
– No bibs, no security pins!
– Racers could have their very own sponsored equipment – not their nationwide or their membership equipment. That is extraordinarily fascinating for the sponsor.
Personally, as an enormous observe fan, I sit up for these Slams. I consider the important thing would be the potential to certainly enroll the athletes that individuals wish 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 may 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 Monitor?
