As summer began in 2024, former Olympic gold-medal sprinter Michael Johnson stood in a downtown Los Angeles restaurant that had been rented out for a big announcement. Johnson said he had secured $30 million in funding for a new track league, promising payments never before seen in track and field.

In a sport where even top stars earn modest livings by the standards of professional athletes, Grand Slam Track represented a huge windfall. More than one-third of that promised funding would be earmarked for prize money alone, a pool of more than $3 million per meet. And the biggest winners at each of its four meets would pocket $100,000 per meet — five times as much as first place earned on track’s other global circuit.

Additionally, 48 competitors who signed contracts with the circuit cou

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