"As Commissioner, I’m probably not supposed to have"- Michael Johnson makes feelings known as he reveals favorite group in Grand Slam Track League

Former American track athlete and GST commissioner Michael Johnson revealed his favorite group from the upcoming league. The first event of the competition will take place between April 4-6 in Jamaica followed by the event in Miami, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.

In a recent tweet, Johnson revealed that his favorite group from the GST league is the Men's long sprints category, which consists of the 200m and 400m racers. The league has signed several top runners in the distance, such as Jereem Richards, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Muzala Samukonga, and the current 400m Olympic champion, Quincy Hall.

Being a two-time 400m Olympic gold medalist, Johnson stated that as the commissioner of the league, he was not supposed to have a favorite group but eventually shared his affinity for the long sprint racers. He wrote via his X (formerly Twitter) handle:

"As Commissioner I’m probably not supposed to have a favorite group. This is my favorite group! I Yeah I said it!"

Notably, Grand Slam Track has also signed several top athletes in the women's long sprints category, such as Merilediy Paulino, Salwa Eid Naser, and Alexis Holmes. Other top athletes to grace the league outside these events include Josh Kerr, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, and Cole Hocker.

Michael Johnson explains the reason for the non-inclusion of field events in GST

Michael Johnson attending the media interview during the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards at the Mercedez Benz building (Image Source: Getty)

Michael Johnson recently shared the reason for the non-inclusion of field events in the Grand Slam Track league. The GST currently includes six categories, short sprints, short hurdles, long sprints, long hurdles, middle distance, and long distance.

In an interview, Johnson shared that he thinks he can not save track and field as a whole. The 57-year-old also mentioned that including the two events is possible in tournaments such as the Olympics and World Championships but not while developing a professional global competition outside these two global events. He said (via BBC):

"Grand Slam Track is track, that is what we're doing. I am going to save what I think I can save; I think I can save track, I don't think I can save track and field. Putting the two together works at the Olympics and World Championships, but I'm not sure it works when you're trying to create a professional sport outside of those global competitions."

During the interview, Michael Johnson stated that while developing the GST league, they have taken several inputs from the World Athletics that aims to develop the sport in the United States.