Matthew Hudson Smith was among athletes still waiting to be paid after Grand Slam Track said it had paid everyone. The dispute leaves him and other athletes chasing money they say is owed after the company’s collapse, with some individual sums exceeding £100,000.
Michael Johnson said he had got the athletes paid and described GST’s trouble as a “catastrophic capital issue” after investors pulled out. He also said the company used his own credit card for athlete flights and hotel rooms when it ran into financial trouble.
Johnson and GST
Johnson launched Grand Slam Track in 2025 with the promise of lucrative prize money and salaries across four marquee meets. The final event in Los Angeles was cancelled, and organisers voluntarily filed for bankruptcy in the US in December.
He later said, “I’m happy to clear it up, because it’s the most hurtful thing and the exact opposite of what was reported.” Johnson also said, “Our credit card was full at Grand Slam Track, because we were facing significant cash-flow issues.”
£11m held back
The money owed to creditors, including athletes, is understood to total $11m, or £8.1m, and is being held by a third party. Several high-profile athletes were owed more than £100,000 each, placing Matthew Hudson-Smith among the largest individual claims in the dispute.
A company acting on behalf of athletes said they had not received any payments. Johnson’s representatives conceded the money had not yet reached the athletes, leaving the payment process unresolved after the public claim that everyone had been paid.
Matthew Hudson-Smith owed
Hudson-Smith, an Olympic 400m silver medallist, was one of the named athletes waiting on payment. Josh Kerr was also among the athletes affected.
The practical issue for the athletes is straightforward: Johnson says the money has been handled, while representatives for the athletes say it has not arrived. For Hudson-Smith and others owed more than £100,000, the dispute now turns on when the funds held by a third party are released.
