"Going to be an all-around bad thing" - Grant Fisher warns Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track could hurt future innovation

Grant Fisher made his feelings known about the remaining prize money he and other athletes are yet to receive for their Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track event. Fisher took a jibe at the GST administration ahead of his participation at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene from July 31.

Fisher competed in the 3000m and 5000m events at the Kingston and Miami editions of the GST. He dominated the 5000m event at both the editions. Fisher received his appearance fee for Kingston but is still waiting for the prize money, which was promised to be paid on by July 31 by the league.

The Los Angeles edition of the league was cancelled as it faced major cash flow issues. The league has promised to pay the Kingston prize money tomorrow and the remaining prize money for Miramar and Philadelphia by the end of September. Voicing his opinion, Fisher said if the league fails to make the payment, the athletes and investors would hesitate to trust new ideas in the future.

“The thing is, if the money doesn’t come through, then no athlete is ever going to want to take a chance on a new idea, no investor is going to want to take a chance on a new idea,” Fisher said (via LetsRun). “It’s just going to be an all-around bad thing for the sport if things don’t come through. So my fingers are crossed. I hope it all works."

The two-time Olympian will compete in the men's 5000m and 10,000m at the USATF Championships.

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Michael Johnson reveals the reason for Grand Slam Track League facing financial issues

Michael Johnson during Grand Slam Track in Miramar, Florida. (Photo by Getty Images)

Michael Johnson launched the Grand Slam Track league last year. However, after three editions of the meetings, the League faced a major blow, which Johnson highlighted was because an investor pulled out. In an interview with Front Office Sports, Johnson said the League and the athletes were affected due to the investor's withdrawal, the name of which he has not revealed.

“That was a huge blow to us, caused a major, major cash flow issue for us, put us in a difficult position, put our athletes in a difficult position,” Johnson said. “But we’re very confident that we’ll pull ourselves out of it.”

“We’ve had a very difficult situation this year financially,” Johnson added. “We had an investor that wasn’t able to honor their complete commitment to the league.”

Michael Johnson started the league with a committed investment of $30 million.