Michael Johnson has spoken publicly for the first time since his athletics league, Grand Slam Track, went bankrupt, revealing that he has now ensured athletes were paid after a "catastrophic capital issue" brought the inaugural season down. BBC Sport

In an interview with The Telegraph, published on 8 August 2026, Johnson addressed the collapse that left creditors chasing more than $30 million (£22.5 million) and several high-profile athletes owed sums exceeding £100,000 each. Among them were British former world 1500m champion Josh Kerr and 2024 Olympic 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith. BBC Sport

Grand Slam Track organisers voluntarily filed for bankruptcy in the United States in December 2025. The final event of the 2025 season, scheduled for Los Angeles, was cancelled. The Association of Athletics Managers said in January 2026 that the league's debts topped $30 million. BBC Sport

The most explosive allegation came in March 2026, when a legal filing by the league's creditors accused Johnson of "secretly" paying himself $500,000 (£375,000) days before the season collapsed. A Grand Slam Track representative called the accusation "unfounded and false" at the time. BBC Sport

Johnson's explanation, offered now for the first time in detail, is that the $500,000 was reimbursement. When the company credit card hit its limit, Johnson said he paid for flights and hotels for 96 athletes plus their companions out of his own pocket. The league needed to fly those athletes to events in Miami and Philadelphia and house 170 people in hotels across both cities. BBC Sport

He also said he loaned Grand Slam Track $2 million of his own money to keep athletes looked after, and forwent his salary entirely. In March 2026, Johnson said he would repay the $500,000 to the league, and as part of the bankruptcy deal he agreed to return the payment he had taken in June 2025. BBC Sport; Front Office Sports

Athletes have not recovered everything they were owed. Under the approved repayment plan, athletes still owed around $7 million would receive roughly $4.9 million — about $1.1 million short of the full amount. Yahoo Sports

Johnson's broadcasting career has also shifted. A BBC pundit and commentator since 2001, he has not worked for the broadcaster since the Paris 2024 Olympics, having stepped back to focus on Grand Slam Track. The BBC is not planning to use him in its 2026 coverage. BBC Sport

What lingers for the sport is the question of trust. Grand Slam Track was meant to give track and field a lucrative, star-driven league of its own — the kind of platform athletes rarely see outside Olympic years. Instead it collapsed inside one season, and the athletes who backed it are being paid less than they were promised. For every future league that promises big appearance money, the ghost of this one will be in the room.