World champion middle distance runner Josh Kerr warned Grand Slam Track’s doubters that they are missing out on the next big thing.
American sprint legend Michael Johnson has brought money and interest into a sport badly needing both with his vision for pitting the world’s best athletes against each other.
With a $12.6million prize pot and $100,000 going to the winner of each race group, there is plenty of intrigue surrounding the first of four 2025 events in Kingston Jamaica.
Kerr has signed up as one of the middle-distance athletes for all four events, while others will be competing as challenges on a case-by-case basis.
He told talkSPORT he was thrilled to be making history as Johnson tries to change the face of athletics forever.
“I think that was shown with me being one of the first to sign up. I saw the vision, I knew who was at the head of it, and I knew it was going to be the biggest league in the world,” said the 27-year-old.
“It’s nice for it all to come together now. To be honest, it’s been a long time coming.
“It was probably enough of us all complaining about how bad a shape the sport was in, and it was time for us to commit to the reason that this is going to become one of the biggest sports in the world again.”
Kerr will compete in the 800m on Saturday and 1,500m — the event he won World Championship gold in two years ago before taking silver at Paris 2024 — on Sunday.
The unique format will see the Brit take on both Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi and American 1,500m gold medallist Cole Hocker. Points will be allocated based on the finish in both races to crown a champion with a maximum of 24 available.
Kerr thinks the unique format, combined with many of the world’s best being in competition, can see athletics join the likes of the NBA and NFL on the podium of world sports.
Asked about where Johnson’s masterplan could end up, he added: “To be a place where people want to be at the end of their career, like it would be for the Premier League or the NBA or the NFL.
“This is the end goal for athletes, and I don’t think we’ve had that before. So I think long-term that’s what we’re going to see.
“But for us, it’s making sure we put performances on to give some legitimacy to the overall league.”
Kerr’s long-time rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a notable absentee, as is American speedster Noah Lyles.
“I think there’s a lot of trust that the athletes have given this commission and this league currently,” Kerr explained.
“And to be honest, everyone’s making their own personal decision to be in this league or not. And so it doesn’t really matter if you’re the biggest name in the sport or not.
“We are the best athletes in the world and we’re going up against each other time and time again.
“And I think people are doing it for personal reasons, but this is going to be a situation where you’re going to have to be part of this league to be known as the best in the world.”
Winning over two distances will see the victor named the best middle-distance runner on the world — at least until the next races in Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
It is a work in progress but Kerr thinks he is on the right side of history.
“I think we’re going to get to a point where, you know, it’s going to be like Grand Slams and other sports where these are the most important meets of the year.
“Whoever’s winning these long term is going to be seen as the best runner in the world. That’s why I’m here. And we’re going to be able to show that.”
