Het Atletiektopic #67 Dokter op de afspraak in Götzis

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Op maandag 9 juni 2025 19:45 schreef Nober het volgende:
Is dwergwerpen ook een onderdeel?

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Grand Slam Track Cancels Los Angeles Meet as $30 Million Track Startup Wobbles
The track and field circuit led by legendary sprinter Michael Johnson announced more than $30 million in funding last year.

Grand Slam Track—the nascent professional track circuit founded by four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson—is canceling its final race in Los Angeles scheduled for later this month, Front Office Sports has learned.

GST has an all-hands meeting scheduled for today, a source said, where the status of the meet and the future of the company will be discussed.

In its first season, GST has completed three track meets, in Kingston, Jamaica; Miami, and Philadelphia, which ended last week and was downsized to two days from three. The Slam in the name GST mimics the Slams of tennis, of which there are four. Each Slam has six track event groups.

GST had touted it would award $12.6 million in prize money in year one, so if it eliminates LA that could save more than $3 million, plus event and travel costs. The meet was scheduled for June 28–29 at UCLA.

Sources close to GST ascribed the looming cancellation to a variety of factors.

“May postpone LA because of a new strategic partner/investor,” one source wrote in a direct message. “Geopolitical climate in LA also doesn’t help,” referring to the anti-ICE protests in the city where the federal government has deployed.

It’s unclear why new investment money would affect the LA meet. Sources close to Grand Slam insist money is not an issue.

A second source cited a poor lease agreement with UCLA.

Last year, Winners Alliance—backed by hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman—invested $30 million in Grand Slam. As of September, the company had raised $39.5 million, according to Pitchbook.

In an interview with Front Office Sports last month, Johnson said he was disappointed by the poor attendance in Kingston, saying many fans bought tickets and then didn’t show up. He told reporters in Philadelphia that the new two-day format was an improvement.

GST is one of several U.S.-based track and field startups. Athlos, backed by Alexis Ohanian, is a women’s only event that staged its first meet September 26, 2024 in New York. Total prize money exceeded $600,000. Since, Athlos has signed as advisers and owners Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas—who also runs in Grand Slam—with another New York meet scheduled for October of this year.

Startup leagues have flooded sports, from women’s basketball (Unrivaled), to tennis (Intennse), to volleyball and golf (TGL), to name just a few. As institutional money pours into sports, recognizing the sector as a distinct asset class, there is more money to start untested ideas. Johnson has talked about a professional track circuit for decades.

Track and field, like many Olympic sports, struggle with visibility in the years between the Games. There is the international Diamond League, though prize money is modest on that annual track and field circuit. Johnson’s concept is a more geographically compact series of four events with significant money. But whether there is a market remains an open question.

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Op donderdag 12 juni 2025 20:38 schreef Felagund het volgende:
Dacht dat Renaud Lavillenie al was gestopt.

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Op donderdag 12 juni 2025 20:41 schreef Mexicanobakker het volgende:

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Die doet al een paar jaar in de marge mee. Is ook vooral overvleugeld door Mondo natuurlijk.

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Op donderdag 12 juni 2025 20:46 schreef Mexicanobakker het volgende:
Zijn de omstandigheden zo slecht voor polshoog? Zo bijzonder is 5.72 nu ook weer niet.