Noah Lyles explains why he hasn't signed with Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track - "We have great performances but nobody is able to see it"

Reigning Olympic and World champion Noah Lyles recently explained his reason for not signing the Grand Slam Track League founded by former American Olympian Michael Johnson. Lyles expressed his concerns regarding the visibility and reach of the event.

The American champion recently competed in his second Olympic event in Paris, where he secured the first Olympic gold of his track-running career in the 100m event. The Florida native defeated Jamaica's Kishane Thompson in a photo finish, clocking in at 9.79 seconds. Following that, despite being COVID-positive, he appeared in his marquee 200m finals and earned a bronze medal, finishing with a time of 19.70 seconds.

As one of the most recognizable faces in track and field, Noah Lyles was considered one of the top choices for Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track, an initiative launched by the retired runner to elevate the sport's profile like every other popular sport. However, Lyles has yet to commit to the league, and when asked about his thoughts on joining the venture, he said he has concerns regarding the TV streaming platforms for the competition.

"I think he has an amazing setup; truly, creating your own track and field league is not easy, and you know he's going against the grain here. Me having the information, I know there's things I can say and can't say, but I'd say he's definitely going with what he feels is the best way to represent track on the global stage and especially in America," Lyles said (via an interview with ESPN) [2:45 onwards]

"Personally, I just need to see a TV provider. The problem with our sport right now is we have great performances but nobody is able to see it so until I'm able to hear that TV sponsor, I don't know if I can make a decision on that yet because we could have the greatest performances at the Grand Slam Track, but you know, if a tree falls in the middle of the woods and nobody's there to see it, did it really fall?" he added.

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Michael Johnson talks about signing top athletes for Grand Slam Track - "Noah Lyles is one of those"

Noah Lyles pictured at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Images via Getty)

In an August interview with TMZ just after the Paris Olympics, Michael Johnson expressed his wish to sign big names for the Grand Slam Track, especially noting Noah Lyles as one of his top priorities.

"I mean absolutely Noah Lyles is certainly one of those. I mean, Noah is the fastest I mean so he's those sorts of people... those sorts of athletes are people that we want to be part of this league, but we also need and we want their rivals as well, not just them by themselves; they need to be challenged," Johnson stated [4:00 onwards]

The first edition of the Grand Slam Track is scheduled to take place from April to September 2025 in Los Angeles and one other American city, including two international venues.