On May 31, 2024, Penn graduate and former Penn track and field runner Isabella Whittaker returned to Franklin Field to run in Grand Slam Track, a league founded by Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson.
It was Whittaker’s second go-around with Grand Slam Track after running in the Miami Slam three weeks prior. But in Philadelphia, the former Ivy League champion showed out at her collegiate venue by placing third in the 400-meter race on day one before improving to second in the 200m race the next day. She finished second overall in her group, adding $50,000 to the $30,000 in prize money she won in Miami.
Eleven days following the Philadelphia Slam, Grand Slam Track canceled its fourth and final meet of its inaugural season, which was set to take place in Los Angeles. At the time, an unnamed source told Front Office Sports that the cancellation was due to “a new strategic partner/investor,” adding that “the Geopolitical climate in LA also doesn’t help” — referring to anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in the city.
But the reality was far simpler — the league never had the money. Following the Philadelphia Slam, the league owed $19 million that it could not pay to athletes and vendors, according to Front Office Sports.
“I don’t know what the future is for Grand Slam,” Whittaker told The Daily Pennsylvanian. “I’m not sure if we’re going to try again. I don’t really know what their endgame is, but I do believe that I’ll get my money. … I had a feeling it might take a while for me to get the money, because they basically told us they didn’t have it.”
In total, Whittaker is entitled to $80,000 in prize money between the Miami and Philadelphia races, alongside two $2,000 appearance fees for both races. Four months later, after the league received emergency financing from its initial investors, she has only recently received half of her winnings.
“A week or two ago, [Grand Slam Track was] able to pay all their athletes half of what they were owed,” Whittaker said. “[It] is a good step because I was feeling a little bit nervous about whether or not I was [going to] eventually get the money, but I was hearing from them pretty frequently.”
“I was very excited about the league. I still am,” she added. “I definitely think [paying half of what is owed] was a step in the right direction. It’s a shame that [the league] sort of backfired.”
Grand Slam Track looked to engage a new generation of track and field fans and offer a fresh take on the sport, pitting the sport’s biggest stars against each other and entering each in multiple races. Every finish was used to tally overall points at the event and throughout the season. Following the Philadelphia Slam, Johnson’s vision seemed to be coming to fruition.
Twenty thousand fans came to Franklin Field over the course of the two-day event, marking the highest attendance of the three completed slams. The historic venue, which has held the Penn Relays since 1895, saw 11 facility records fall on day one. Shortly following the meet, Johnson told the media he “couldn’t be happier” with the final product.
Behind the scenes, though, Grand Slam Track gave “serious internal consideration” to canceling the Philadelphia Slam before deciding to continue as planned, as The Athletic first reported. The sports outlet released a report on Aug. 28 that detailed the inner workings and eventual shortfalls of the league. Although Johnson publicly claimed that the league had secured $30 million in funding, sources informed The Athletic that it had only received $13 million at the time of the league’s first meet in Kingston, Jamaica.
It is unclear whether Penn has been fully compensated for the use of Franklin Field. A request for comment was left with Penn Athletics.
Eldridge, an asset management company, had discussions about investing in the league, according to The Athletic, but it chose not to advance a non-binding term sheet that would have advanced an initial $30 million before granting another $10 million later in the year. Sources indicated to The Athletic that this decision was made following the Kingston Slam, as the meet’s meager audience did not impress Eldridge officials.
“The idea was [to] make it more exciting, make more money, and give it more of a platform. It’s sad that the attempt didn’t create enough revenue,” Whittaker said. “That’s why my biggest concern is more just, ‘Do we even have a market for track and field right now?’”
After running for Grand Slam Track, Whittaker competed in the Diamond League, the Prefontaine Classic, the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Notably, at the WAC, she ran the first leg for Team USA’s championship record-breaking 4x400m relay, for which the team won gold.
Whittaker had numerous conversations with teammates and competitors on the circuit about the unraveling of Grand Slam Track. Four-time Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who anchored Team USA’s first-place 4x400m relay team alongside Whittaker, participated in Johnson’s league as well. Whittaker described the common sentiment among track and field stars as a shared sense of disappointment towards Grand Slam Track, rather than anger.
“A lot of the dialogue was like, ‘Dang, that’s a shame.’ Everyone who engaged in Grand Slam, whether they were a challenger or a racer, really was vibing [with] the idea,” Whittaker said. “It was sort of like, ‘That kind of sucks, but what does that mean for our sport?’ We had some conversations: ‘Is the money even there for track and field? Will it ever be?’”
Former DP Sports Editor Walker Carnathan contributed to reporting.
