Everyone knows Michael Johnson, one of many biggest athletes within the historical past of monitor and subject and sports activities basically.
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 will take Usain Bolt 14 years to interrupt. Wayde van Niekerk took virtually 17 years to interrupt Johnson’s 200m report.
Michael has been concerned with monitor and subject a very long time since he stopped being a aggressive athlete. Since 2001 he’s a pundit for the BBC, the place he covers a wide range of monitor and subject occasions, together with the Olympics.
Pre-announcing a brand new monitor league
Again in February, Michael Johnson introduced this on his social media:
BIG issues coming to skilled monitor & subject!!! https://t.co/NVTfI6tVfw pic.twitter.com/yZjVnBjyxM
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) February 27, 2024
“Simply needed to let you realize about mynew monitor enterprise. I teamed up with some nice companions and collectively we’re making the most important funding ever into skilled monitor and subject, to construct knowledgeable, really fans-focused league that may unlock probably the most worth for the very best monitor and subject athletes on the 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 every thing. These had been the details:
- Monitor and Subject has a really massive following, however solely throughout occasions such because the Olympics and the World Championships;
- Followers wrestle to observe their favourite athletes due to irregular TV protection;
- Athletes face monetary difficulties to maintain their careers;
- Winners Alliance is the associate on this enterprise, already making the most important funding in monitor and subject historical past (in April we discovered this determine to be $30M);
- They may create a brand new league in 2025;
- The league may have a format that’s TV and fan pleasant;
- It is going to concentrate on the athletes, making an attempt to raise their standing globally;
- It is going to have good prizes for the winners.
Within the meantime
Within the meantime, Johnson has used his social media to highlights a few of the points the athletes (and monitor and subject as a sport) are dealing with within the present state of affairs.
He’s additionally been sharing messages from different protagonists of the sports activities who are also apprehensive for the state of monitor and subject.
There’s this interview with Usain Bolt, the place he says “monitor and subject wants the eye as a result of I believe our sport goes beneath the radar.”
“Monitor and subject wants the eye as a result of I believe our sport goes beneath the radar.”
An interview with @usainbolt in Jamaica 🇯🇲
💬 Why monitor and subject 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 & Subject 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 provide $50k per gold medal gained in Paris, and it’s planning to increase prize cash to silver and bronze beginning on the LA 2028 recreation.
Lastly, enter the Grand Slam Monitor
Michael Johnson has lastly revealed the small print of the brand new league – known as Grand Slam Monitor – this week.
That is the way it will work.
- The league may have 4 meets, known 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 latest efficiency and fascinating matchups. They’re known as “Challengers”.
- Challengers will obtain an look charge 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 have a look at the occasion classes:
- Quick sprints – 100m / 200m
- Quick hurdles – 100m hurdles (F) or 110m hurdles (M) / 100 meters
- Lengthy sprints – 200m / 400m
- Lengthy hurdles – 400m hurdles / 400m
- Quick distance – 800m / 1500m
- Lengthy distance – 3000m/5000m
As you discover, there aren’t any subject 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 case you race the 400 hurdles, you additionally run the 400 flat.
That is the half I’m not so positive about. However undoubtedly 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 overall 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 gives their winners: $10,000.
Every Slam is unbiased and doesn’t carry over factors or instances or placements to successive Slam occasions.
No subject 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, subject occasions happen concurrently the monitor occasions, and solely highlights or the very last levels of a race are actually proven to viewers.
Because the Grand Slam Monitor is supposed to be a 2:30 – 3 hour occasion, there isn’t any time to concentrate on leaping and throwing.
This has the potential to be massive
Apart from the Olympics, World Championships and regional Championships (such because the European Championships that simply concluded final week), the most important monitor and subject stars compete annually within the Diamond League.
The problem with the Diamond League is that not each “champion” participates in all occasions. There’ll all the time be massive names collaborating, however very hardly ever there can be actual aggressive match-ups.
By contracting (doubtlessly) the 4 finest athletes in every occasion class, followers know that every of the Slams may have 4 of the very best 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 remains to be in search of 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 instances.
– No bibs, no security pins!
– Racers may have their very own sponsored package – not their nationwide or their membership package. That is extraordinarily fascinating for the sponsor.
Personally, as an enormous monitor fan, I sit up for these Slams. I imagine the important thing would be the potential to certainly enroll the athletes that folks need to watch, for the rivalries that make this sport nice.
I’m unhappy to see no subject occasion included – however I imagine if this enterprise is profitable, each for the athletes, the followers and the league, perhaps new Slams may be created or perhaps a league for then (Grand Slam Subject? You’re welcome Michael Johnson).
Are you a monitor fan? What do you consider the Grand Slam Monitor?