Lord Coe says Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track is not a threat to World Athletics and hopes the new competition is successful.
American four-time Olympic champion Johnson launched Grand Slam Track in June with the championship set for its inaugural season in 2025.
Big-name announcements and lucrative prize money have helped build hype around the track-based competition, which will focus on events from 100 metres to 5,000 metres.
My goal as an athlete was to do things no one had done before! Some said I couldn’t, but many said I could. My goal again with @GrandSlamTrack is to do things that haven’t been done. And just like before, I’m motivated by all the people saying I can! 🙏🏾
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) June 21, 2024
pic.twitter.com/ytXxZrFwPD
As well as a prize pot of 12.6 million dollars (£10m), 48 contracted ‘racers’ will receive a base salary to compete at all four slams.
American cities Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles will host after the curtain-raiser in Kingston, Jamaica, while The Diamond League – the sport’s established professional circuit – will again hold 15 meetings in 2025 with record prize money totalling 9.2 million dollars (£7.3m).
“We should be comforted that we have created a landscape where people think it’s worth investing in our sport,” Coe, the current president of World Athletics, said when asked about Grand Slam Track at a press conference.
“They weren’t doing it five years ago and they certainty weren’t doing it 15 years ago. I’m very welcoming of all sorts of innovation and investment within reason.
“It’s important that we work as collaborators here and not competitors.
“I want them to be successful and add lustre to our sport. I think there is space for everybody here as long as there is communication and we have calendar co-ordination.
“I don’t see it as a threat. I’ve never ever seen competition as a threat. You either work with competition or you don’t.
“Frankly this is an organisation that welcomes all sorts of innovation. We’ve shown we’re not afraid of that, and I wish Michael success.”
Coe, a two-time Olympic 1500m gold medallist, is currently one of seven candidates for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee.
The successor to outgoing president Thomas Bach will be elected at the IOC Session in Athens next March.
Should Coe be successful, his position at World Athletics will be immediately filled by senior vice-president Ximena Restrepo.
Coe said: “Our governance and constitution is very clear. Should there be a vacancy at World Athletics, bearing in mind there is also a three and a half to four-month transitional period, that role would be in the very capable hands of Ximena Restrepo.
“We know exactly what would happen, basically what we describe as a vacancy policy.
“If anyone in our governance structure walks away we are absolutely clear how we replace and move on seamlessly, like any good organisation should be structured.”
