American sprint legend Michael Johnson will not be part of the BBC’s punditry team for the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The decision comes as his newly-founded league, Grand Slam Track, continues to face a financial crisis with millions of dollars in prize money and appearance fees still owed to some athletes.
Johnson is a four-time Olympic champion and admitted last week that Grand Slam Track has struggled to meet its payment commitments to athletes. He attributed the shortfall to a major loss of funding following the inaugural event in Kingston, Jamaica in April, which failed to draw the anticipated crowds or generate the expected revenue from broadcasting and sponsorships.
The 57-year-old said in a statement: “We promised that athletes would be fairly and quickly compensated, yet here we are struggling with our ability to compensate them.”
The issue has caught the attention of World Athletics president Lord Coe who confirmed that the governing body is monitoring the situation. Several athletes, including American 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas have spoken out publicly about the outstanding payments and expressed their frustration over the delays.
The BBC has officially confirmed in a report to The Times that Johnson will not appear in their Tokyo studio. No official explanation was given for his absence. A spokesperson for Johnson offered a brief statement: "He has other commitments, unfortunately, but is looking forward to working with the BBC in the future.”
Athletes were originally promised $100,000 for winning their events at each of the four planned meets along with additional appearance fees for taking part as official competitors. Johnson had promoted the series with the assurance of a total prize fund exceeding $12 million. In a BBC interview in April, he boldly declared, "Our athletes deserve to be paid more and we’re doing that."
Johnson held an emergency meeting to announce the cancellation of the final Grand Slam Track event in Los Angeles. Johnson called the situation “one of the most difficult challenges” he has faced and confirmed there will be no 2026 series until all debts are settled.
