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The two-time Olympic champion has revealed one major shortcoming in upcoming track leagues including Michael Johnson's Grand Slam as he opined what they can do to change that.
Jamaican sprint king Yohan Blake has pointed out one shortcoming that upcoming track leagues including Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam and Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos have that should change for the better of athletes.
Yohan Blake explained that the track leagues do not accommodate every athlete and most of the time, it’s the organisers that choose who they want to see competing, leaving out other track stars who also have the potential of running well and earning good money from that.
The two-time Olympic champion noted that athletes always put in a lot of work with the aim of getting these chances to compete but the new track leagues are very discriminatory.
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“I think it’s a good thing but it only speaks to a few people…how many people can get there? You know, they are choosing who they want and I don’t feel like it should be like that, I feel like everyone should have a chance to compete for that,” Yohan Blake said in an interview with Sports Max TV.
“You don’t want to water down the meet but you want to give everyone a chance. People are training like crazy and you have to compete in like two events at a time to get to what you want.”
Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track League offers $12.6 million in prize money in its first year with the winner walking away with $100,000 and $10,000. Michael Johnson’s track league will also provide athletes with base compensation and will feature four annual competitions, with each event being a three-day event.
Meanwhile, the prize money for the 2024 Athlos NYC track meet saw the winners walk away with $60,000 with the second and third-place finishers pocketing $25,000 and $10,000. The athletes who finished fourth were awarded $8,000 with those who finished fifth being given $5,000. The athletes who finished sixth won $2,500.
The Diamond League also increased their prize money as stakeholders announced that the money will be increased to $9,240,000 starting next season. The amount is almost a third higher than the amount disbursed from 2019 to 2024 and is also the highest ever since the Diamond League’s launch in 2010.
“We are training really hard and I think we should have something where everybody has a chance to compete and I’ve seen the Diamond League has increased the prize money, which is very good,” Yohan Blake said.
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07:31 - 05.11.2024
'She has been robbed' - Outrage as Beatrice Chebet misses from World Athlete of the Year finalists
Athletics fans have slammed World Athletics after double Olympics champion Beatrice Chebet was snubbed for the World Athlete of the Year despite having a better season than some finalists.
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