British Sprinter Daryll Neita Joins Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track League

British sprinter Daryll Neita has become the first woman from Great Britain to join Michael Johnson’s new athletics league. Neita, aged 28, was a member of the Great Britain 4x100m relay team that earned a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Grand Slam Track, an athletics league introduced by American track legend Michael Johnson in June, is designed to gather the world’s premier runners and will award a top prize of $100,000 (£78,683). Commencing in April 2025, this new competition structure will feature a total prize fund of $12.6m (£9.9m), distributed across four events. Neita is among the British athletes confirmed for the competition, alongside 1500m runner Josh Kerr and 400m star Matthew Hudson-Smith, both of whom secured silver medals in Paris. Other athletes announced as competitors for 2025 include Kenya’s 800m world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Mary Moraa, and Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, a former world champion who claimed 400m silver in Paris. Neita stated, “I’m really excited to be the first British woman announced as joining Grand Slam Track, and can’t wait to start racing in this fresh new league.” She added, “I love the concept and getting to race twice in a weekend is fun and exciting for all of us as racers. It’s an amazing opportunity to compete at the highest level in a whole new format that’s going to bring a lot of energy to the sport.” Grand Slam Track is scheduled to hold four meetings annually, with two of these events taking place in the United States. Participants will compete in two events apiece, and a total of 48 athletes will be under contract with the league. The subject of prize money in athletics has garnered significant attention in recent months, particularly after World Athletics declared in April its intention to award prize money to Olympic athletes. In June, the sport’s governing body also unveiled plans for a new global championship, set to commence in 2026, where gold medallists will be awarded $150,000 (£118,000). World Athletics specified that its championship would offer a prize fund of $10m (£7.87m). By comparison, the Diamond League presently provides a $30,000 (£23,610) prize for athletes who win an event across its 15 meetings. Johnson, 56, a BBC athletics pundit, commented, “They deserve to be compensated.” He further explained, “The structure of the sport in the past has not compensated those athletes to take that risk to go and compete against the best athletes in the sport.”