Jamaica was supposed to be the perfect launchpad. The land of sprint kings and queens. Michael Johnson’s much-hyped $30 million Grand Slam Track arrived with big promises- fantasy matchups, unfamiliar doubles, and a massive $3.15 million purse. Twelve athletes walked away $100,000 richer. Gabby Thomas fired. Emmanuel Wanyonyi stunned a stacked 1500m field. The concept? Daring. The money? Game-changing. On paper, it was perfect. But then the camera panned to the stands. And the silence was deafening. The crowd? Nowhere. The Jamaica National Stadium, meant to roar, barely whispered. GST is built for spectacle, but Jamaica’s silence echoed loudly. Did the sport fail the fans, or vice versa?
The road show heads to Miami next, but concerns are still there. Beyond the $100K headlines and stacked fields, the Beyond the Records podcast raised real questions on GST’s future, Rai Benjamin asked the question on everyone’s mind: “Grand Slam as an entity, which I’ve always said is like, you know, you’re, if you’re not selling out stands, or if you’re not, well, not necessarily selling out, but like, at least getting to 65, 70% capacity, then I just don’t see how over time, like it’ll be a profitable model as well, too.”
Sure, the payouts dazzled—“Going home with $100,000 is… phenomenal”, Noah Lyles also chimed in, “In second place, like, you know, 60… exactly. I think third got 30.” Grant Holloway added, “If you get last, you get 10 bands… which is equivalent at the time to Diamond League.”
Rai Benjamin discusses Grand Slam Track. pic.twitter.com/9Hwf13u3fR
— Track Spice (@TrackSpice) April 30, 2025
The story is developing…
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