Grand Slam Track, Michael Johnson’s failed athletics venture, has denied an allegation that the former Olympian paid himself half a million dollars before the project collapsed
Olympic legend Michael Johnson won’t work for the BBC this year as the American continues to wade through the controversy surrounding his disastrous Grand Slam Track project. Johnson, 58, has been a staple of the BBC’s athletics coverage since 2001, predominately working as an analyst.
But the four-time Olympic goal medallist won’t be part of their team in 2026, having been accused in a US legal filing of paying himself $500,000 (£376,000) just eight days before Grand Slam Track collapsed. GST responded by branding the allegation ‘unfounded and false’. It claims that the ‘reimbursement’ from GST was for expenses which the 58-year-old personally financed.
When Johnson was missing from the BBC’s coverage of the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, his spokesperson commented: “He has other commitments unfortunately but is looking forward to working with the BBC in the future.”
Now, The Independent report that the BBC aren’t planning to work with Johnson on its athletics coverage this year. His spokesperson said in a statement published by the newspaper: “Michael wishes to clarify that it was his decision not to continue with the BBC after the Paris 2024 Games.
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“With his contract up for renewal after the Olympics, and Grand Slam Track launching soon after, he chose to focus fully on the project. The BBC understood his decision, and he remains grateful for their support and his longstanding relationship with the broadcaster.”
Johnson therefore isn’t expected to work on this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where for the first time the BBC won’t be its lead broadcaster. Having lost the rights to TNT Sports, the BBC will only show a portion of the Games.
When launching GST last year, Johnson pledged to ‘bring fantasy to life’ by pitting track’s biggest stars against one another. Staggering amounts of prize money was supposedly up for grabs, but low ticket sales and poor broadcast revenues saw one major investor pull out.
The event’s fourth and final meet in Los Angeles was cancelled and GST filed for bankruptcy in December. Despite athletes still being owed millions of dollars in prize money and appearance fees, it’s alleged that Johnson secretly transferred himself the equivalent of £372,000 when he knew the project was doomed.
“Mr Johnson initiated a payment of $500,000 purportedly on account of an unsecured note,” lawyers for an official committee of unsecured creditors said. “Shockingly, Mr Johnson elected to secretly prefer himself over the athletes and other, non-insider creditors, while at the same time feigning to the public that he was selflessly looking to advance the interests of the athletes.
“Moreover, at the same time, the debtor knew it was in precarious financial straits without sufficient cash to complete its contemplated season.”
A spokesperson for GST responded by saying: “We are aware of the UCC’s recent allegation that GST secretly paid $500,000 to Mr Johnson instead of paying athletes and vendors. This claim is unfounded and false.
“As was previously explained to the UCC, Mr Johnson advanced millions of dollars for GST’s operating expenses, including athlete travel, accommodation and costs, only a portion which was repaid through the reimbursement. It is unfortunate that the UCC chose to ignore facts and is instead attempting to discredit the company and Mr Johnson through false statements.”