Grand Slam Track, the high-profile track & field startup league that promised to revolutionize the sport with a record-setting $12.6 million prize pool and major backing, has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At launch, Grand Slam boasted $30M in funding, headlined by Winners Alliance, which is chaired by billionaire Bill Ackman. A report from The Athletic later revealed that Grand Slam never had $30M in its coffers, despite marketing itself as fully funded. Grand Slam hosted three meets in spring 2025, but abruptly canceled its fourth and final event in Los Angeles. Initially, the league denied financial troubles. However, league founder and commissioner Michael Johnson later admitted that the sudden exit of a key investor in April 2025 caused a “major, major cash flow issue.” Grand Slam secured up to eight figures in emergency funding this fall. In October, it distributed $5.5M to athletes (half of what they were owed) and attempted to negotiate debts with vendors. Ther...