Scottish middle-distance runner Josh Kerr is among the biggest creditors owed by Grand Slam Track after the league filed for bankruptcy last week, with the Briton owed $218,750.
Documents filed to the bankruptcy court in Delaware on Monday included a list of the 20 creditors with the largest unsecured claims, with Kerr and six other athletics stars collectively owed millions by GST.
American sprint star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is owed $356,250, with compatriots Gabby Thomas – the Olympic 200m champion – and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden – who won gold in the 100m and 200m at this year’s World Championships – still owed $249,375 and $190,625 respectively. Each athlete won individual events as well as one or more of the Slams, with Kerr having won the Miami Slam and the 1500m race in Miami, with a total prize of $150,000 across those two meets alone.
One broadcast company is owed over $3m, with the total amount owed to the top 20 creditors nearing $10m. The documents show that there are between 200 and 999 creditors, with the total amount owed between $10m and $50m.
GST, which was founded and launched by multiple Olympic champion Michael Johnson in 2024, filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court last week following months of financial issues.
The league’s first event had taken place in Kingston, Jamaica in April of this year, though a major financial backer withdrew its support after the event, with attendance having been poor.
Subsequent meets took place in Miami and Philadelphia, with the latter cut from three days to two, but the final event of the season, which was scheduled for Los Angeles in June, was cancelled.
Johnson later admitted that GST could not afford to pay its athletes, despite the league having promised up to $12.6m in prize money.
The Chapter 11 filing gives GST the chance to reorganise and “stabilise its finances” rather than go through liquidation, with a statement from GST explaining that the league also wants to use the process to “ implement a more efficient cost and operating model, and position GST for long-term success”.
