"I identify with her"- Michael Johnson gets real as he opens up about signing Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone as the first Grand Slam Track athlete

Michael Johnson echoed the sentiments of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone when she talked about getting called out for not showing enough personality on the track. Johnson also noted that the similarity between him and the 400m hurdles world record holder prompted him to sign her first for the Grand Slam Track.

Michael Johnson, the four-time Olympic and eight-time world champion retired from track and field after the 2000 Olympics. Despite being away from competition, he stayed connected to the sport as a television commentator with BBC and often opines on track events and athletes through social media posts.

Johnson launched the Grand Slam Track League in 2024, intending to change the track landscape for the better. He signed Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as the league's first racer, followed by more track athletes. Ahead of the inaugural edition ready to run from April to September 2025, McLaughlin-Levrone spoke about getting 'flak' because of her underwhelming personality on the track.

"I get a lot of flak for not showing personality on the track but it's because I'm trying to give you all the best performances possible. If you want personality, you gonna have to get it here (indicating off-track). Pick one. We can't have both," she said.

Johnson joined forces and revealed the reason behind including her on the GST roster before anybody else, saying:

"One reason Sydney was the first athlete I signed is because I identify with her. I was also criticized for not showing personality because I was all business on the track which is how I got the results. After the race is where you got to see my personality."

McLaughlin-Levrone defended her 400m hurdles title at the 2024 Paris Olympics, breaking the world record for the sixth time. She also ran the invitational 200m and 400m races at the Diamond League finals last year.

Michael Johnson opened up about starting the Grand Slam Track League to elevate the sport

Michael Johnson speaking at the IAAF/LOC Press Conference - (Source: Getty)

Michael Johnson has always been vocal about the lack of recognition of the track and field compared to other sports. He also talked about how the sport gets more importance at the Olympics.

"There’s been a big void in the marketing of track and the profile of track over the last several decades. It’s popular at a very high level every four years during the Olympics, then falls out significantly in between. So the vision is to elevate the sport to this sort of level of UFC, Formula One and tennis and golf and other individual sports," Johnson said (via Los Angeles Times).

Michael Johnson added Gabby Thomas, McLaughlin-Levrone's 4x400m relay teammate, to the Grand Slam Track roster alongside other Olympic medalists.