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UK Athletics has turned down the chance to host Michael Johnson’s new Grand Slam Track series, choosing instead to focus on building the London Diamond League into a premier event for British athletics.
American sprint legend Michael Johnson was hit with a blow after UK Athletics (UKA) declined the opportunity to host a leg of his newly-launched Grand Slam Track series next summer.
Despite Johnson’s innovative concept, which seeks to introduce a fresh multi-day format with mixed events, UKA has decided to focus its resources and attention on the London Diamond League event, seen by many as the pinnacle of the UK’s athletics calendar.
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Johnson’s Grand Slam Track series, which will debut next April in Jamaica, offers an intriguing twist by featuring athletes across multiple events, such as Keely Hodgkinson, who would compete in both 800m and 1500m races under the format.
However, UKA CEO Jack Buckner has outlined why the organization chose to stick with its Diamond League roots, saying it holds greater potential as a must-see, annual event.
“We can make the Diamond League like our Silverstone,” said Buckner as per Telegraph.
“It’s already the biggest one-day athletics meet in the world – and we think it can be the biggest and the best. Some of the ideas that are being talked about will really raise the bar once again in that event.”
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The Diamond League has achieved sold-out crowds in recent years with last summer’s event drawing 60,000 fans to the London Stadium.
A major highlight was 21-year-old Keely Hodgkinson’s stunning performance, where she broke her own British record and achieved the third fastest women’s 800m time of the century.
This performance, coupled with her Olympic gold medal in Paris, has made Hodgkinson a national icon and a fan favorite to win the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year.
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The choice to prioritize the Diamond League over Johnson’s series is partly due to the appeal of this “Silverstone moment” for British track and field.
“In Hodgkinson, UKA has a star who can ‘transcend’ athletics,” Buckner noted, adding that her influence was “off the chart” in terms of fan engagement during the Paris Olympics.
UKA sees the Diamond League as a fitting platform to maximize her impact on the sport domestically.
While Hodgkinson remains central to the Diamond League’s appeal, she is not currently signed up for Johnson’s Grand Slam Track series.
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The Jamaican hurdler has explained the significance of having Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track League debut in Kingston, promising organisers that they will not regret the decision.
Meanwhile, British athletes Josh Kerr and Matthew Hudson-Smith, who won silver medals in Paris in the 1500m and 400m, respectively, are among the confirmed participants in the new format.
Despite the Grand Slam Track series’ promise, UKA expressed concerns over the logistics and timing, especially given the organization’s financial caution.
UKA is expected to announce a loss of £1.2 million (Ksh197m) for the year ending March 2024, though this marks a considerable improvement from last year’s £3.7 million (Ksh609m) loss.
Austerity measures have included cutting budgets for certain international teams, which are now self-funded, with hopes of breaking even by 2025-26.
“That [format] seems quite US-centric at the moment, which is fine,” Buckner said of Johnson’s Grand Slam Track series, noting that they had engaged in “a really good discussion” with Johnson’s team.
“We’re interested in sustainable, innovative events…but they need to be viable too. We think the Diamond League is a product that’s 85-90 per cent the way there. We don’t want to walk away from that… we want to build off that. It’s just at this moment in time, I don’t think the Michael Johnson format quite works [for us] – around the timing and dates as well.”
The highly anticipated London edition next July could include unique matchups similar to the much-publicized 100m sprint duel between pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm, which captivated fans at Zurich’s Diamond League event in September.
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