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Michael Johnson has admitted the fallout from Grand Slam Track was "the most stress" he had faced for a long time and clarified a payment made during its demise. The four-time Olympic champion was at the heart of the league, which had its inaugural season in 2025 with meets in Kingston, Jamaica and in the US cities of Miami and Philadelphia. Ireland's Andrew Coscoran claimed a $50,000 (€43.2k) prize at the Miami meeting after securing second place overall in the long distance events, while he and sprinter Sharlene Mawdsley also competed at the Philadelphia meet, earning $12.5k (€10.8k) and $15k (€13k) respectively. The fourth and final meet scheduled in Los Angeles in June 2025 was cancelled and Grand Slam Track filed for bankruptcy the following December. In March 2026, a legal filing by GST's creditors accused Johnson of "secretly" paying himself $500,000 (approximately €432,000) days before the season collapsed, a claim a GST representative said at the time was "unfounded and false". Johnson clarified the payment in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, saying: "I’m happy to clear it up, because it’s the most hurtful thing and the exact opposite of what was reported. "Our credit card was full at Grand Slam Track, because we were facing significant cash-flow issues. We had 96 athletes, plus companions, whom we needed to fly to Miami and Philadelphia. "We had 170 people to house in hotels in both cities, and the credit card had no room left. I instructed our travel team to put it on my credit card, and I would be reimbursed for it. "So, what I received was reimbursement. I also loaned the company $2m (€1.7m) to make sure we took care of the athletes. I decided to forgo my own salary." Speaking about the stress surrounding the event’s breakdown, Johnson added: "It was 10 (out of 10). In Olympic sprinting, you have to deliver your best performance in seconds, and you get one opportunity every four years – there’s probably nothing more stressful than that. But this was the most stress I had dealt with in a very long time. "I definitely had nights where I didn’t sleep, where I would be awake thinking, 'This is on me. This headline just came out – do the athletes believe that?’ Those things weighed on me very heavily, and on my family as well. "I was asking myself, ‘Are you stupid? Why did you do this? This is not what you need’."