Four brand new athletics competitions will attract the world’s elite.
But not Armand Duplantis.
He is nobbed in the legendary Michael Johnson’s new big venture.
– This does not feel like an athletics tour, says athletics expert A Lennart Julin.
Armand Duplantis is one of the biggest stars in athletics and after a series of world records and wins in every single competition that can be won, he is also one of the highest paid. Mondo has a lucrative bonus system from its sponsors, but over the years there has also been a lot of income in the form of prize money.
Mondo is completely nobbed
But when Michael Johnson now invests heavily in the sport, Mondo runs out of luck. Johnson, who completely dominated the 200 and 400 meters during his time as an active player, has entered with 300 million kroner to start the Grand Slam next year. There, some of the sport’s greatest will compete in four competitions, where the winner in each branch group will take home over one million kroner.
It is prize money that is ten times as high as the Diamond League, but Duplantis will not take part in that. The reason is that pole vaulting is not one of the disciplines included on the new Grand Slam tour. Instead, there are only running events on the program, which is now being seen by expert A Lennart Julin.
– But stave does not seem to exist in Johnson’s world of thought. He thought that a pole vault competition should be decided in a quarter of an hour, which shows how much he knows about the event, says Julin to Aftonbladet, and continues:
– This does not feel like an athletics tour, but more like a running circus.
Great criticism
The idea is for the first race to be held in Jamaica in April, followed by three races in the UK and USA in May and June. So far, only one big star has accepted the move, and much of the criticism has been based on the fact that the season is already packed as it is, with the World Cup and Diamond League going on as usual. But many believe that the prize money will still attract many of the biggest names.
However, A Lennart Julin is most critical of the arrangement, and the lack of branches.
– The chance for this to become something is the money, which has a huge driving force. But the question is whether it is enough. For me, the charm of athletics is the diversity, where there is a lot going on at the same time. When there is no running, there are technical disciplines that can be followed. Here it feels like there will be a lot of dead time. Like a gala made for commercial breaks on television, he says.
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