As some of the biggest track stars begin to arrive on Jamaican soil for this weekend’s Grand Slam Track debut inside the National Stadium, Michael Johnson, the man behind the revolutionary concept, is looking forward to an exciting start to the series.

This, as he underlines the value of the event to the sport on a global scale and its impact on the athletes involved.

Superwoman hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone headlines an impressive list of 48 racers; a cohort that boasts over half of the medals won in the sport at the Paris Olympic Games in the cash-rich, three-hour meet, that will be broadcast to almost 200 countries worldwide.

Grand Slam Track will unfold at the National Stadium from Friday to Sunday and Johnson, who won four Olympic gold medals and at one point held world records in the 200m and 400m, told the Jamaica Observer that he is looking forward to bringing the event to the world and believes that the energy of the Jamaican fans will ignite the series.

“The fans are excited, the athletes are excited and I’m definitely excited. We’ve been working on this for a very long time and it’s here. I can’t wait to see the athletes start to race, that’s what’s going to be most compelling. That’s what we’ve been building on; it’s about the athletes and the racing. We got some of the greatest athletes in the world, fastest athletes in the world, so, yeah, excited to get started,” said Johnson.

Kingston marks the first of four Grand Slam Track events with follow-up stops in Miami (May 2-4), Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29).

The league will feature six event categories for men and women, with each event category carrying two disciplines that competitors will compete in over the course of a weekend.

Each category will have eight competitors in total — four signed “Grand Slam Racers,” who were chosen based on their world rankings and merits. The other four competitors will be the “Grand Slam Challengers,” — generally upcoming athletes.

Points will be allocated for placements with the athlete with the best combined score for the two events in their category securing the win and US$100,000. Cash prizes will be distributed to each position with the last-placed athlete walking away with US$10,000.

“While it’s a new concept, it’s familiar to them. They’re still racing the races that they know. It’s just a matter of now they’re racing two different races over a weekend, and their combined score determines who wins. So the athletes are excited. It’s fresh, it’s a fresh approach on the sport, and they get to race against their rivals. So that’s what they’ve always wanted. So it’s exciting for us to be able to deliver it,” said Johnson.

With the organisers helping to fund the relayering of track inside the National Stadium, Johnson said he was happy with the final result and the apparent speed of the track.

“We worked really hard on that to make sure that we can get the track in before Champs and we were able to do that. Obviously, we were very excited when I first saw the design, I was like, ‘Yeah, we have to do this.’ And so it’s been great, knowing that we were able to deliver something that the Jamaican public have been really proud of. The response has just been amazing. It’s one of the most beautiful tracks in the world, but judging from Champs, and some of the times the kids were running, those were pretty fast, too, which is good.”

Still, the US sprinting legend says the focus is not about fast times, rather pitting top competitors against each other and presenting earning and publicity opportunities for athletes, while packaging and presenting the sport in a manner that will drive interest to a wider audience.

“The athletes want to compete in big moments where the races mean something. The athletes want to be compensated better. The fans want to see the fastest people run together. The fans want to see it on TV. We’re doing all of those things. We are paying the highest prize money you’ve ever seen in the sport. We are broadcasting to 189 countries around the world from here in Kingston. This is amazing. So we want that stadium to be full,” Johnson added.

With a few of the sport’s biggest names not on board this season, Johnson says he expects greater buy-in in the future but credited the big names and challengers who have signed on to compete in the high-stakes competition

“I think it’s a testament to the greatness and the bravery of those who have joined. So we have 48 racers that we signed to the league. Those 48 racers represent over 50 per cent of the medals that were won at the Olympics in Paris. That’s what this sport has needed…So I’m extremely proud and happy with the 48 racers that we have, and all of the challengers that have come in as well,” said Johnson.

Besides McLaughlin-Levrone, the 400m hurdles Olympic champion and world record holder, Grand Slam Track will feature other international stars such as Fred Kerley, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Gabby Thomas, Marileidy Paulino, Zharnel Hughes, Kenny Bednareck, Alison Dos Santos, and Masai Russell.

Among the big-ticket Jamaicans set to compete are Oblique Seville, Rushell Clayton, Roshawn Clarke, Ackera Nugent, and Nickisha Pryce.

Friday’s opening day is scheduled to get underway at 5:42 pm with the women’s long sprints which will feature Thomas, Pryce, Dina Asher-Smith, Salwa Eid Naser, and Alexis Holmes among others. The day’s action is to end at 7:21 pm.

On Saturday, the meet also starts at 5:42 pm and runs until 7:21 pm with Sunday’s final day commencing at 2:42 pm and closing out at 4:21 pm.