Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson has spoken publically for the archetypal clip since Grand Slam Track went bankrupt, and has clarified details of payments to himself and competing athletes.
Contracted runners were promised lucrative prize wealth and salaries successful the competition's inaugural play past year, but the last lawsuit successful Los Angeles was cancelled and organisers voluntarily filed for bankruptcy successful the US successful December 2025.
Several high-profile athletes were owed payments implicit £100,000, including British erstwhile satellite 1500m champion Josh Kerr and 2024 Olympic 400m metallic medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith.
In an interrogation with the Telegraph, external published connected Saturday, Johnson said helium has present "got the athletes paid", aft a "catastrophic superior issue" was caused by investors pulling out.
The Association of Athletics Managers, which represents a fig of competitors, said successful January that GST had debts of much than $30m (£22.5m).
In March 2026, a ineligible filing by GST's creditors accused Johnson of "secretly" paying himself $500,000 (£375,000) days earlier the play collapsed, a assertion a GST typical said astatine the clip was "unfounded and false".
"I'm blessed to wide it up, due to the fact that it's the astir hurtful happening and the nonstop other of what was reported," Johnson told The Telegraph.
"Our recognition paper was afloat astatine Grand Slam Track, due to the fact that we were facing important cash-flow issues.
"We had 96 athletes, positive companions, whom we needed to alert to Miami and Philadelphia. We had 170 radical to location successful hotels successful some cities, and the recognition paper had nary country left.
"I instructed our question squad to enactment it connected my recognition card, and I would beryllium reimbursed for it. So, what I received was reimbursement.
"I besides loaned the institution $2m to marque definite we took attraction of the athletes. I decided to forgo my ain salary."
Johnson said successful March helium would repay the $500,000 GST.
"I decidedly had nights wherever I didn't sleep, wherever I would beryllium awake thinking: 'This is connected me. This header conscionable came retired - bash the athletes judge that?'," Johnson said.
"Those things weighed connected maine precise heavily, and connected my household arsenic well. I was asking myself: 'Are you stupid? Why did you bash this? This is not what you need.'
"That was the astir hard portion of this. Questioning my information for doing this, questioning my integrity, questioning my character."
Johnson has been a pundit and commentator for the BBC since 2001 but has not worked for the broadcaster since the Paris 2024 Olympics arsenic helium focused his attraction connected GST.
English (US)·