Grand Slam Track cites $40 million US in debts in bankruptcy filing

Grand Slam Track ‍filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a court filing last week, citing more than $40 million in debts and less than $1 million in total assets.

The ​league, led by four-time Olympic gold-medalist sprinter Michael Johnson  who serves as the commissioner, claimed it would treat track athletes as true professionals and "revolutionize the track landscape" by signing 48 ​of the  world's best athletes and having them compete in four events with a $12.6 million prize pot.

Only ⁠three of the events ended up being ‍held in Kingston, ⁠Jamaica, Miami and Philadelphia ​before the final scheduled meet in Los Angeles was cancelled.

Another filing states that Grand Slam Track accrued just $1.8 million in revenue last year, leaving many ⁠of the promised payments currently undistributed.

The track athletes listed as being owed money in the bankruptcy filing include four-time Olympic gold-medallist ‍hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ($268,750), reigning U.S. 100-metre champion Kenny Bednarek ($195,000) and Olympic 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas ($185,625).

Johnson is also cited in the filing as being owed more than $2.4 ⁠million. He gave $2.25 million to the business in May of 2025 in ​order to help the Philadelphia event proceed as scheduled.

In all, ​the bankruptcy filing cites 340 creditors owed a combined ‍liability total of $40,679,508.68. The company lists $831,385.46 in assets, all categorized as personal property.

Grand Slam Track cited "more ‍than $30 million in ⁠financial commitments from investors and strategic partners" in a September 2024 press release. However, The Athletic reported it only received $13 million from its lead investor, Winners Alliance, with an option later to invest an