Noah Lyles, the fastest 100m track athlete at Paris 2024, has denied joining four-time US Olympic Champion Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track until they crack a television deal for the ‘new global home of professional track competition’.
“If a tree falls in the middle of the woods and nobody is there to see it, did it really fall?,” the Paris 2024 was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
In response, Johnson said the TV deal will be announced in January.
“We will announce our TV deal in January, but we’re going to go ahead and close out our group before then. Noah’s timing doesn’t work for us and our timing doesn’t work for him. That’s fine. We’ll continue to talk to him about being a challenger and maybe he becomes a racer next year,” Johnson said.
The final athletes announced of the 48 signed racer, includes, Caleb Dean, Diribe Welteji, Freddie Crittenden, Brittany Brown, and Zharnel Hughes.
With the announcements of Dean, Welteji, Crittenden, Brown, and Hughes, the roster of 48 Racers for the 2025 Grand Slam Track season is set.
The five stars announced today join the already announced: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson, Masai Russell, Alexis Holmes, Quincy Hall, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, Grant Fisher, Josh Kerr, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Ackera Nugent, Roshawn Clarke, Nikki Hiltz, Cyrena Samba-Mayela, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Alison Dos Santos, Ronald Kwemoi, Muzala Samukonga, Hagos Gebrhiwet, Clement Ducos, Oblique Seville, Sasha Zhoya, Marileidy Paulino, Jess Hull, Daniel Roberts, Shamier Little, Marco Arop, Devon Allen, Jasmine Jones, Jereem Richards, Luis Grijalva, Rushell Clayton, Nickisha Pryce, Elise Cranny, Nozomi Tanaka, Salwa Eid Naser, Daryll Neita, Mary Moraa, Agnes Ngetich, & Tsigie Gebreselama.
These racers are selected by the Grand Slam Track Racing Committee based on a combination of factors to include the fastest and best racers in each race group, with a focus on fierce rivalries and thrilling competitive racing.
Grand Slam Track Racers commit to racing in all four Slams per year. They will receive an annual base compensation for racing in each Slam and are eligible for full prize money.
These Grand Slam Track Racers will receive annual contracts, access to the Grand Slam Track content and data services team, inclusion in the league collective, group licensing and new revenue opportunities, plus access to world class athlete support services throughout the season.