Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili and several other athletes who participated in the inaugural season of the Grand Slam Track may be facing a frustrating experience, as organisers have yet to disburse prize money and appearance fees.
Some of the world’s top track and field athletes are still awaiting payments—amounting to millions of pounds—ranging from prize winnings to appearance fees for their involvement in the debut edition of the competition. The situation has grown so concerning that a number of athletes have contacted World Athletics directly in hopes of resolving the issue.
Ofili competed in the second meet of the Grand Slam Track at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, USA, in May. During the three-day event, the Louisiana State University athlete finished third in the women’s 100m with a time of 10.94s, behind Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Tamari Davis, who placed first and second respectively. She also participated in the women’s 200m, where she finished fourth.
The first meet of the Grand Slam Track season was held in April at Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica. The second took place in May at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, USA, followed by a third meet at Franklin Field in Philadelphia from May 31 to June 1.
However, the fourth and final meet—originally scheduled for June 27 to 29 in Los Angeles—was abruptly cancelled. Organisers held an emergency meeting with athletes to inform them of the decision.
The cancellation was reportedly due to poor ticket sales from the earlier meets and concerns over limited broadcast and sponsorship revenue. According to The Times, “Many athletes and their representatives are yet to receive payments owed to them from Kingston and the following events, held in Miami and Philadelphia,” which led the Association of Athletics Managers to contact GST and later hold a Zoom call with founder Michael Johnson.
While it’s standard for prize money to be withheld until drug testing results are finalised, many athletes had expected appearance fees to be paid earlier. Organisers reportedly reached out to athletes’ representatives earlier this week, promising that all outstanding payments would be settled.
The Grand Slam Track was founded by former Olympic champion Michael Johnson, who had announced a total prize purse of $12.6 million (£9.2 million) for the 2025 edition. Top athletes were promised appearance fees of up to $200,000 and prize money of up to $100,000 per meet.
