World Athletics Monitoring Outstanding Grand Slam Track Payments To Athletes

Sebastian Coe says World Athletics is intimately monitoring outstanding jock payments from Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track series, admitting: “There is nary constituent successful pretending this is simply a satisfactory situation.”

Johnson unexpectedly cancelled nan last Los Angeles leg of his caller four-meeting bid past period pursuing debased spectator numbers astatine nan opening 3 editions successful Kingston, Miami and Philadelphia.

The bid announced a full prize money of $12.6m (£9.3m) astatine its motorboat earlier this year, but a number of athletes are understood yet to person payment. It is not different for a clip lag betwixt title and remuneration but, fixed nan abrupt extremity to nan aborted first season, runners are progressively concerned complete individual payments that agelong good into six figures.

“It’s not good,” said Lord Coe, nan world governing body’s president. “The 1 point that World Athletics has ever stood powerfully down is nan athletes. So yeah, this is not a bully situation. It’s a startup, but nan athletes do request paying.”

He added: “For these things to work, they can’t beryllium vanity projects. They person to beryllium suffused successful practicality and deliverability. I conscionable want nan events that are going to adhd lustre, that we tin find abstraction for, and we will promote them to astatine slightest person nan courtesy of spending that benignant of clip and that benignant of effort, some intelligence and resource, successful making judge they work.”

Grand Slam Track champions astatine each meet person $100,000 (£74,000) successful summation to important quality fees. Britain’s 400m Olympic medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith won nan short sprint class successful Kingston and Philadelphia, pinch Josh Kerr triumphing successful nan short region class successful Miami.

While Grand Slam Track declined to comment, it is understood agents person been informed that their athletes will person costs for nan Kingston arena by nan extremity of this month, pinch later meet payments pursuing earlier nan extremity of September. The Guardian understands that immoderate athletes person received quality money from nan opening meet.

Asked if World Athletics has nan powerfulness to intervene connected athletes’ behalf, Coe replied: “Well, let’s conscionable watch this space.”

Johnson’s brainchild has been touted arsenic a nonstop competitor to World Athletics’ Diamond League circuit, which had stood unchallenged arsenic nan superior season-long athletics title since it succeeded nan Golden League successful 2010.

Speaking to nan Guardian successful April, Johnson denied fears that nan $30m of finance successful Grand Slam Track could tally retired earlier he is capable to alteration nan sport. “We’re successful this for nan agelong haul,” he said. “Startups aren’t profitable successful twelvemonth one. You know, if anybody comes to you pinch a startup, saying: ‘Hey, we’re going to beryllium profitable successful twelvemonth one,’ tally distant arsenic accelerated arsenic you can. But we will proceed to grow.”

Coe insists he remains afloat supportive of privately funded athletics events. “It was successful everybody’s liking for thing for illustration this to beryllium successful,” he said. “We’re not nan ‘computer says no’ command-and-control federation.

“From nan very infinitesimal I became president of World Athletics, I talked astir nan request to beryllium much imaginative and partner – don’t awkward distant from forming those relationships. So we were very clear that this had to beryllium done decently and executed properly. Hopefully, [create] an further attraction successful nan sport.”

Meanwhile, Coe confirmed World Athletics remains committed to introducing DNA tests for each elite female athletes up of September’s world championships.

Coe initially announced nan argumentation successful March to “guarantee nan integrity of female women’s sport”. It will impact a non-invasive one‑time feature swab aliases barren humor test.

Tests are owed to statesman successful nan coming weeks erstwhile nan World Athletics Council has confirmed procedural regulations.