World Athletics' conditions for licensing or supporting 2026 Grand Slam Track
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Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 06.02.26. | 09:25
Its inaugural season promised lucrative prize money and salaries for contracted runners, but its final event was cancelled with organisers later voluntarily filing for bankruptcy
World Athletics has said it will not license or support the revival of the Grand Slam Track (GST) league in 2026 unless the organization clears millions owed from its troubled 2025 season.
It described any attempt to move forward without settling debts as “unconscionable.”
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In a statement, the global governing body backed the position taken by the Association of Athletics Managers (AAM), a group representing the majority of elite track athletes, which criticized plans by the bankrupt league to budget fresh funds toward recruitment before paying creditors.
According to the AAM, GST intends to set aside $400,000 (approximately KSh52 million) to recruit athletes for the 2026 season, a move the association said would come before addressing payments owed to athletes, vendors, and service providers.
The agents’ body, which says it represents nearly four out of every five medalists from the most recent Olympic Games and World Championships, expressed shock that the league was exploring a restart despite outstanding obligations to more than 300 individuals and companies.
World Athletics echoed that concern, stressing fairness to those who competed or provided services in good faith.
“It is unconscionable that efforts would be made for Grand Slam Track to restart in 2026 without the settlement of outstanding financial obligations to athletes, vendors, and service providers. It is paramount that athletes who competed in good faith and vendors and service providers are treated fairly and paid,” World Athletics said.
GST’s latest bankruptcy filing indicates liabilities exceeding $40 million (about KSh5.2 billion), underlining the scale of the financial crisis. Even the league’s president and CEO, Steve Gera, is listed among creditors, owed more than $170,000 (roughly KSh22 million).
Though the league operated independently of World Athletics, its events had previously received support in the form of world ranking points awarded to participating athletes.
However, the federation has now made it clear that such backing will only be reconsidered once outstanding debts are resolved.
Among high-profile athletes owed money are Olympic champions Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, listed for $268,750 (about KSh35 million), Gabby Thomas for $185,625 (around KSh24 million), and Marileidy Paulino for $173,125 (approximately KSh22.5 million).
League founder and Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson is also seeking repayment, with filings showing he is owed more than $2 million (about KSh260 million) from a loan he provided ahead of the third and final event staged in Philadelphia last spring.
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