Athletics is in a loop from which Michael Johnson is attempting to extricate it.
The four-time Olympic champion turned pundit and entrepreneur caused a stir when he unveiled plans for a new track league for 2025 earlier this year, the details of which will be laid out in full next month.
But the 56-year-old said he was forced to act after being caught in a two-decade-long battle to get recognition for athletics outside the Olympics and its World Championships.
Asked about the state of the sport, he said: "The best way to answer that is to say the media have been asking that question and I've been answering it now for 20-plus years, which tells us everything we need to know.
"But it's the right question, as the sport has continued to struggle. But the fact that any other sport that hasn't really advanced beyond the media asking this question would be dead, but it's not, which tells you it's a great sport.
Athletics falls flat outside of the Olympics and the Worlds, but now we've got a chance for change
"It's fantastic every four years at the Olympics, every two years at the World Championships. But outside of that, it falls flat and doesn't really have much of a presence at all. But there's a real opportunity to change that. My research and from what I understand is that a large majority of those people who do watch during those times would do so again given the opportunity to have that same experience throughout the year."
Athletics has tried various differing formats, from street events to World Relays, which took place in the Bahamas last weekend, but none has truly reignited the sport to a wider audience.
Recently, Johnson went to an athletics track meet as a fan rather than a pundit, and was left empty by the experience, his argument being that, unlike other sports, he did not feel that the spectators were a primary concern.
"Athletes use these events to get ready for an Olympics or World Championships, but it's not for the fans," he added. "You need a fan-driven product."
Watching the World Relays left him with a sense the sport was not looking at itself externally enough. Following the Bahamas, he wrote on social media: "World Relays is an example of a constant problem with track.
“Amazing event but feels like the primary focus is providing an opportunity for athletes and federations, and fans are an afterthought. Too much of track is structured as 'this is our event for us', kind of like opening a restaurant set to serve just your family and wondering why you have no customers."
It is telling that Johnson has, until very recently, looked exclusively outside the sport to build this new league, tapping into the world of Formula One and NFL. "I'm building this on the playbooks of other sports to see how we create the track and field of Formula One, NFL, UFC, tennis or golf," he said.
"How do we create the track and field of that as opposed to how do we take track and field and improve on track and field? That has failed many, many times and the sport is so far behind in terms of its profile compared to other sports."
In his quest, he has teamed up with Winners Alliance, the group acting as the for-profit arm of the Professional Tennis Players Association, and has secured more than $30million (£24m) in funding from investors.
His track league looks set to have a global calendar, with London a potential host of a round, for the very best athletes — the likes of sprinter Noah Lyles and pole vault world record-holder Mondo Duplantis — at each meeting.
We'll launch in 2025 and focus on just the best of the best track athletes
"We'll announce all the details in June," he said. "We'll launch in 2025 and focus on just the best of the best track athletes."
There is a frustration for the Laureus Academy member that too often the prospect of a Netflix series is seen as the panacea to boost a sport. While he sees the importance of such storytelling, his own frustration is at the lack of storytelling at specific athletics meetings.
"You watch a football game and that's a story in itself," he said. "We don't talk about the fact that you've got eight people going to line up in a race, and each one has the opportunity to win and we don't know which one is going to win, and here's who they all are.
"That never happens in our sport. We talk about whether someone is going to break a record, that's not a story. We totally miss the story. Out track league will tell that story — and these athletes want to tell their stories, they want you to know them for more than just what they do on track."
Johnson is in constant dialogue with World Athletics president Seb Coe, who has long said the sport he oversees needs entrepreneurs and innovators and has welcomed Johnson's venture.
And, with it, Johnson hopes he finally provides the answers to two decades of questions about the future of athletics.
