Grand Slam Track files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing $40m in debts

Grand Slam Track filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a court filing last week, citing more than $40 million in debts and less than $1 million in total assets.

The league, led by four-time Olympic gold-medalist sprinter Michael Johnson who serves as the commissioner, claimed it would treat track athletes as true professionals and "revolutionize the track landscape" by signing 48 of the world's best athletes and having them compete in four events with a $12.6 million prize pot.

Only three of the events ended up being held in Kingston, Jamaica, Miami and Philadelphia before the final scheduled meet in Los Angeles was canceled.

Another filing states that Grand Slam Track accrued just $1.8 million in revenue last year, leaving many of the promised payments currently undistributed.

The track athletes listed as being owed money in the bankruptcy filing include four-time Olympic gold-medalist hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ($268,750), reigning U.S. 100-meter champion Kenny Bednarek ($195,000) and Olympic 200-meter gold medalist Gabby Thomas ($185,625).

Johnson is also cited in the filing as being owed more than $2.4 million. He gave $2.25 million to the business in May of 2025 in order to help the Philadelphia event proceed as scheduled.

In all, the bankruptcy filing cites 340 creditors owed a combined liability total of $40,679,508.68. The company lists $831,385.46 in assets, all categorized as personal property.

Grand Slam Track cited "more than $30 million in financial commitments from investors and strategic partners" in a September 2024 press release. However, The Athletic reported it actually only received $13 million from its lead investor, Winners Alliance, with an option at a later date to invest an additional $19 million.

--Field Level Media