Sports
FOUR-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson says athletes contracted to his now-bankrupt Grand Slam Track (GST) have received their outstanding payments.
Johnson, who founded GST in 2024, spoke publicly for the first time since the athletics competition filed for bankruptcy in the United States in December 2025.
The competition’s inaugural season was disrupted after investors withdrew funding, forcing organisers to cancel the final event in Los Angeles.
Several prominent athletes were reportedly owed more than £100,000, including British former world 1,500m champion Josh Kerr and 2024 Olympic 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith.
Johnson told The Telegraph that he had “got the athletes paid”, attributing the collapse to what he described as a “catastrophic capital issue”.
The Association of Athletics Managers, which represents several competitors, said in January that GST had debts exceeding $30 million (£22.5 million).
Johnson also addressed allegations that he secretly paid himself $500,000 (£375,000) shortly before the competition collapsed.
The allegation was contained in a legal filing by GST creditors in March 2026, but GST representatives previously described it as “unfounded and false”.
Johnson said the money was reimbursement for expenses he personally covered while the company was experiencing severe cash-flow problems.
He said GST’s corporate credit card had reached its limit while the organisation was arranging travel and accommodation for athletes and their companions.
“We had 96 athletes, plus companions, whom we needed to fly to Miami and Philadelphia,” Johnson said.
He added that about 170 people also needed hotel accommodation, prompting him to instruct the travel team to use his personal credit card.
Johnson said the $500,000 was therefore reimbursement for expenses rather than an undisclosed payment to himself.
He also revealed that he personally loaned GST $2 million to help the company meet its obligations to athletes.
“I also loaned the company $2m to make sure we took care of the athletes. I decided to forgo my own salary,” he said.
Johnson had previously said in March that he would repay the $500,000.
The controversy, he said, had taken a significant emotional toll on him and his family, particularly because of questions about his integrity and motivation.
Johnson stepped away from his BBC punditry and commentary work after the Paris 2024 Olympics to concentrate on building GST.
The competition was launched with the ambition of creating a new global athletics series offering athletes substantial salaries and prize money.
However, financial difficulties ultimately led to the cancellation of its final event and the subsequent bankruptcy proceedings.
M.P
Tags: Micael Johnson