(Reuters)

Four-times Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson believes his Grand Slam Track can be the “Formula One of athlete racing,” as the novel circuit that puts rivalries at the forefront kicks off in Kingston, Jamaica, from Friday.

The four-event start-up comes amid longstanding concern over athletics’ popularity outside of the Olympics, as track and field is a regular attraction in Europe but struggles to compete against the “Big Four” of North American professional sport.

Johnson, a larger-than-life figure who won eight world championship gold medals during his career, told Reuters it was time to take the burden off the athletes to bring track into the limelight.

“The athletes themselves have been criticised a lot over the years for the sport not being more popular. And my position has always been, the athletes are doing their job,” said Johnson, who will also host meets in Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

“It’s up to someone else to go and create a structure that presents that to the world and commercialises that and markets it.”

Grand Slam features head-to-head competitions with a roster of decorated stars including 400 metres hurdles world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the United States and British 1,500m world champion Josh Kerr.

The circuit, which does not include any field events, is missing a handful of notable names including Olympic 100m gold medallist Noah Lyles and double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

Johnson, who won 200m and 400m gold at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and held world records in both events, says taking Grand Slam Track to Europe and Asia is on the agenda should this year’s competitions prove a success.

Broadcast deal

Grand Slam inked a broadcast deal in the United States two months before its launch, with the CW Network and streaming service Peacock to air the competitions.

On Friday, the circuit announced additional broadcast partners to give fans in 189 countries access.

“I’m going to try to bridge this gap between the sport and its current position and what its potential is, which I think is immense,” he said. “I think this could be the UFC and Formula One of athlete racing.”

The circuit is a direct challenge to the Diamond League, long the standard-bearer for professional track worldwide, which hosts 15 meetings each year in cities from Xiamen to Zurich.

The league upped its total prize money this year to $9 million, seemingly in response to the super-sized purse offered at Grand Slam, where $12.6 million will be on the table this year.

Diamond League CEO Petr Stastny said last week that he welcomed the competition but worried that looming calendar clashes could hurt competitors and organisers.

“Fans want to be entertained. They want to get to know the athletes. They want to see head-to-head competition,” said Johnson. “They want to see the best against the best more often.”