What happens when a new league’s financial collapse becomes the punchline at a global awards ceremony? Mondo Duplantis just showed the world, at Michael Johnson’s expense. Back in June, the league was forced to cancel the last leg of the race in LA and has yet to pay the athletes in full. To make things worse, Johnson received only half of what the investors initially promised. Now, Duplantis’ jab has rubbed salt right on top of GST’s $19 million debt. 

As he received his 2025 World Athlete of the Year award, the pole vault champion said, “There was another tour that tried to exclude field events. That didn’t go so well, did it? I am very proud to represent field eventers.”

These words elicited a wave of laughter and applause from the crowd. And the crowd included entities like Prince Albert II. But the timing couldn’t have been more barbed. Johnson’s financial distress struck back just a few days ago. Through Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Golubchik LLP, an insolvency firm, GST issued letters to the vendors asking them to accept half of the outstanding dues, or risk GST filing for bankruptcy protection before December 5.

Duplantis’ dig at the GST could have been averted had Johnson included field events in the league, instead of focusing on only track. However, Johnson once explained his own reasoning for doing so. 

“Based on today’s audience, if you were going to build a sport, then you would not build ‘track and field’ because it would not work. It doesn’t work to have four or five all in one and to then call it one sport, because that’s what track and field is.” Johnson’s vision was to elevate sprinting alone as a sport.

“We don’t have field events at Grand Slam Track and the reason for that is, and I’ve seen this on TV, is that we struggle to storytell with so many things happening at once. We are committed to one event at a time in a three-hour window. The athletes also deserve to be recognised for their talent, and that’s tough when it’s difficult to follow the action.” 

But this move by Johnson ruffled quite some feathers apart from just Mondo Duplantis. Tara Davis-Woodhall made sure that the world knew how she felt about Grand Slam Track’s exclusion of field events.

Before Mondo Duplantis, Tara Davis-Woodhall hit back at Michael Johnson’s GST

The four-time Olympic gold medalist aimed at saving track events through the GST. Unfortunately for him, an important investor backed away at the last moment, leaving Johnson under considerable and mounting financial strain. But the problems began when he claimed that he could save “track” and not “track and field.” Earlier in January 2025, Davis-Woodhall called Johnson out for excluding field events. 

“Grand Slam Track is track – ‘that is what we’re doing. I am going to save what I think I can save. I think I can save track. I don’t think I can save track and field’… It’s actually Michael you’re ruining this sport if you’re trying to save just track, it’s track and field for a reason.”

Even her husband, Hunter Woodhall, took a subtle jibe at Johnson. When GST kicked off in April in Jamaica, Woodhall shared an Instagram Story featuring a race track with empty stands. Although he quickly deleted it, his caption shook the league. He put forth a sarcastic comment claiming that he was thankful for Johnson “‘saving’ track.” But by the time Johnson could make amends and undo the negative limelight that the GST found itself in, it was too late. His subsequent X post subtly hinted that GST may feature field events in the future. This did anything but damage control.

“Field events. I love track AND field! My mission is to elevate the sport. I am confident that our team can help to do that with GST [Grand Slam Track]. There are great field athletes with amazing stories… Our mission is to lift the entire sport and its athletes to a higher level, on par with other thriving pro sports. Greater financial reward and recognition for athletes. More entertainment for fans. It’s not easy, and won’t happen overnight, but we will succeed with your continued support.”

For Michael Johnson, the story took a turn for the worse when Alexis Ohanian came up with Athlos – an exclusive track and field event featuring women. He decided to host the long jump right in the heart of New York – Times Square. And that ensured great success for the event this year. He treated female athletes with the compensation they deserved, and the trend caught on. After Ohanian promised $60,000 in prize money up front, fans drew parallels to GST’s $100,000 as prize money to the winner, which he couldn’t live up to. And the rest is history.

Mondo Duplantis’ jab may have been humorous, but it reflected a growing frustration among field athletes. With GST drowning in debt and losing credibility, Johnson’s vision faces its toughest test yet. Johnson was dealt a bad hand, and the play at the table was far worse with reputational stakes at an all-time high. His game’s up now, and the sound of his loss is deafening.