In recent years, track and field has found itself at a crossroads. While its rich Olympic history and celebrated athletes continue to draw admiration, the sport’s financial sustainability, visibility, and organizational structure remain persistent challenges.
Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles, one of track and field’s most outspoken figures, believes the sport doesn’t need only saving.
Speaking in a candid interview with Sports Business Journal on June 18, 2025, Lyles reflected on the current state of athletics.
“At the moment we’re in a state of almost limbo. We have a lot of people who want to get in and don’t know how. We have a lot of people who believe that the sport needs saving, and it doesn’t so much need saving as much as it needs help,” Lyles said.
The Rise and Fall of Grand Slam Track
One of the most notable recent efforts to revamp professional track came from sprinting legend Michael Johnson, who launched Grand Slam Track (GST) in 2024.
The series, backed by Bill Ackman’s Winners Alliance with a $30 million investment, promised elite competition, $12.6 million in prize money, and a chance to give athletes consistent, high-paying opportunities outside the Olympic cycle.
Stars like Sydney McLaughlin and Kenny Bednarek embraced the idea, but Noah Lyles notably stayed away, voicing concerns over the project’s long-term viability and sponsor support.
His apprehensions proved justified when GST abruptly canceled its fourth and final meet due to financial troubles, despite early promise and a strong lineup of athletes.
When Help Turns Into Disruption
Lyles warns of a growing issue in track and field: well-funded outsiders with little connection to the sport stepping in with projects that, while well-intentioned, risk destabilizing its delicate ecosystem.
He cited examples like the Enhanced Games, a new competition set for 2026 that controversially permits performance-enhancing drugs. Spearheaded by Australian lawyer Aron D’Souza and backed by tech and finance figures including Peter Thiel, Balaji Srinivasan, and Donald Trump Jr., the event blurs the lines of ethical competition and threatens athlete eligibility for other meets.
While Enhanced Games isn’t limited to track and field, its inclusion of athletics as a marquee event underscores how the sport is increasingly being used as a testing ground for disruptive ideas from outside investors.
“We’re very fortunate to be a sport that, while being an Olympic amateur sport, we have normal, consistent track meets outside of the Olympic year,” Lyles said.
“The problem is it could be more consistent. It could be more prevalent. It could be more planned and structured. And that’s where, again, we need help, not saving.”
Other New-Age Projects
Not all new initiatives have been problematic. In 2024, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian introduced Athlos, a women-only track meet in New York with over $663,000 in prize money and a unique model emphasizing athlete ownership.
It drew impressive live and digital audiences and demonstrated the potential for fresh, athlete-centered track events.
However, such boutique events remain exceptions rather than the rule. The sport still struggles with securing consistent sponsorship, building fan bases, and organizing a global, cohesive league outside the Olympic spotlight.
For Noah Lyles, the way forward isn’t about outsiders parachuting in with flashy, short-lived solutions but rather empowering those within the sport to build sustainable, well-organized events with reliable financial backing.
He envisions a track and field landscape where athletes have year-round opportunities, prize money is guaranteed, and fans can follow a coherent, engaging competition schedule.