Picture this: Grand Slam Track’s official TikTok drops a video of Gabby Thomas. Cool, right? But then Gabby herself pops into the comments—not to hype it up, but to drop a bomb: “So dope!! Pls pay me .” Yeah, that’s real. An Olympic champion basically begging for her check. It hits differently when top-tier athletes have to call out organizers publicly just to get paid. And Gabby’s not the only one. A bunch of athletes who showed up and competed in Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track series say they haven’t seen a dime—not prize money, not even the promised appearance fees from multiple meets. So what’s going on?
So, here’s the latest: On July 24, Michael Johnson sat down with Front Office Sports and finally addressed the mess. “We’ve got to get this right, we’ve got to get our athletes and vendors taken care of,” he said. Sounds promising, right? He added that they’ve been grinding for months to fix things and make sure GST can even have a next season. Johnson—who’s got four Olympic golds to his name—said the whole situation has become his responsibility and that it’s been giving him sleepless nights. But here’s the thing: while he’s talking about working hard behind the scenes, the athlete’s complaints haven’t stopped. Not even close. And now, another big name has stepped up—none other than double Olympic medalist Grant Fisher.
On July 30, Grant Fisher opened up to LetsRun.com about the whole Grand Slam Track money mess—and yeah, he’s feeling it too. Fisher was all in for GST’s first season in 2025, signing on as a “Racer” and committing to run all four meets in the long-distance group (3K/5K). He crushed it—won in Kingston, then again in Miramar, Florida. Each of those wins? Supposed to come with a $100K prize. But here’s the kicker: Fisher says he did get his appearance fee for Kingston, but that big prize check? Still MIA. And it’s not just him—he says every GST athlete he’s talked to is still waiting too. He had to sit out the Philly meet because of injury, and the fourth one in L.A.? Never even happened. So Kingston was supposed to be the payout that kept things afloat. And according to the GST folks, that prize money was promised by July 31. Welp… it’s July 31 now. Still no money. No update. Nothing. So where does that leave everyone?
Grant Fisher’s smile definitely looked a little worn out. Talking about the situation, he admitted, “If it drags out a bit longer, I think a lot of people will be up in arms, and we’ll see how that concludes. Like ideally, at this point in the season, I’d just be focusing on running and all that stuff, but I think it might come to a head pretty soon.” Not exactly the mindset you want to carry into a major race—but here he is. Grant’s already in Eugene, gearing up to defend his national title in the men’s 10,000m at the USATF Nationals today. And instead of being fully locked in, he’s stuck thinking about money he should’ve been paid weeks ago. At 28, with all he’s accomplished, this shouldn’t be something he’s worried about. But it is. He’s got a national title to chase, yet there’s this lingering weight of not being paid hanging over him. And yeah, he admitted—there’s fear. Fear that the longer this drags on, the messier it’s going to get.
Credit: Instagram/ Grant Fisher
In that same chat, Grant didn’t hold back on how much he actually loved the whole idea behind Grand Slam Track. He really believed in it. But not getting paid? That’s what’s hitting hardest. “If the money doesn’t come through, then no athlete is ever going to want to take a chance on a new idea,” he said. “No investor is going to want to take a chance on a new idea. It’s just going to be an all-around bad thing for the sport if things don’t come through.” You can tell he still wants to believe—he even said he’s keeping his “fingers crossed.” But at this point, the frustration is real. And it’s not just him feeling the sting. The list of athletes still waiting for their money is long. And now, another Olympic medalist has spoken up too. This thing’s not going away quietly.
The financial chaos at the Grand Slam Track has another sufferer
Freddie Crittenden balled out in the 2025 Grand Slam Track season—racking up an impressive $107,500 in prize money across three meets. He grabbed 3rd in the 110m hurdles and 8th in the 100m at Kingston ($50K), repeated a strong hurdles finish and added 7th in the 100m in Miami ($42.5K), and then wrapped it up with 6th in hurdles and 7th in the 100m in Philly ($27.5K).
But here’s the punchline: aside from the Kingston check—that “tiny bit” he has been paid—he’s still waiting on $57,500. And he has no idea when (or if) it’s coming. On July 26, Freddie dropped a video with EZ Central that hit hard. “They said it would be different,” he said. “So, it’s hard to let that slide. But yeah, I haven’t been paid the full amount. I’ve been paid a tiny bit. And yeah, that’s where we’re at right now.” So what happened? How did a league built by an Olympic legend fall into this financial hole?
Track & Field: Grand Slam Track Miami May 4, 2025 Miramar, FL, USA Michael Johnson reacts during the Grand Slam Track Miami at Ansin Sports Complex. Miramar Ansin Sports Complex Florida United States, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKirbyxLeex 20250504_hlf_al2_126
Michael Johnson gave some answers in his Front Office Sports interview. He admitted, “It was widely reported that we raised 30 million, or we had 30 million in commitments, which we did. But we didn’t receive all of that because, as I said, one of our investors was unable to honor their full commitment. So we had, you know, we raised a significant amount of money. It cost a lot of money to do what we did this year.” Translation: they had big dreams, big promises—and even big commitments—but when one key investor bailed, the whole plan started to crumble. The meets were flashy, the branding was bold, but the money? Still stuck in limbo. Now, athletes like Gabby, Grant, and Freddie—who showed up, performed, and helped put GST on the map—are left chasing checks instead of chasing records.
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