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Olympic champion Noah Lyles takes swipe at Michael Johnson amid criticism after snubbing Grand Slam.
The Inaugural Grand Slam Track event is up and running after the conclusion of two legs.
The first leg happened in Kingston, Jamaica in April while Miami hosted the second leg on the first weekend of May.
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Grand Slam Track boasts a stacked roster, with nine Olympic champions and 28 medalists from the 2024 Paris Olympics taking up over half of the 48 slots as reported by the Mirror.
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However, 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles, relay champion Sha'Carri Richardson, and 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodkinson have snubbed an approach from organizers despite offering $100,000 to event winners.
Michael Johnson, the brainchild of Grand Slam, has often taken a swipe at Lyles for snubbing the event. Lyles, a six-time World Champion, responded to Johnson's criticism lately saying: "Money is not the thing that’s going to drive me every time. Truthfully, even now, looking at it, OK, we’re two months out, and I’m looking, who are your outside sponsors?
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"Who are your non-track and field sponsors? I haven’t even heard a block's sponsor. I want to hear, is there a watch deal? I want to hear, you know, if there's a betting company, which is getting involved?
"Where are these other things that being in the U.S. provides you with? Because I believe that America is the best marketing factory. So I want to see those companies getting involved, and I haven’t heard anything."
Lyles also suggested that the new league was rushed, which led to concerns among several athletes.
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Johnson has insisted that the Grand Slam needs all the best athletes on board for it to grow but doesn't regret not having the likes of Noah Lyles on board. "We want all of the fastest people to come in. But that’s on them."
Composition of Grand Slam
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Each Grand Slam Track event includes 48 athletes who face 48 challengers over three days. Each athlete competes for points, with the winner taking home $100,000, but the top ten places are all paid.
The money on offer greatly exceeds the prize purse in the established Diamond League, but several top athletes who snubbed Grand Slam Track cited scheduling as their reason for declining.
However, Lyles criticized the league's lack of sponsorship and publicity in the build-up to its launch.
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