From empty stands and absent superstars to progressive codecs and strange match-ups – did the inaugural Grand Slam Observe assembly ship?
The 12 athletes who left Kingston, Jamaica this weekend with an extra $100,000 (£77,500) after competing in simply two occasions would possibly recommend it was an enormous success.
Nonetheless, enormous swathes of empty seats on the Nationwide Stadium led to the sensation that the progressive new format, the brainchild of four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson, has work to do so as to seize an viewers.
“Clearly, look, let’s be sincere. We might like to see extra spectators right here, you already know?” Johnson stated.
“We predict we’ll get that, we predict that’ll occur. However the crowd was engaged, and that is what’s actually vital. Folks had been actually engaged with what’s occurring right here.”
American Johnson stated he launched the idea, broadcast on TNT Sports activities within the UK, in a bid to take care of the eye and pleasure athletics generates each 4 years on the Olympics.
The occasion in Jamaica was the primary of 4 scheduled three-day occasions – every of the following three happen in america – and Johnson was happy with the way it performed out, though he admitted there are points to iron out.
“All the pieces went easy from a contest standpoint,” Johnson added. “However we had a couple of issues behind the scenes that we did not like.
“Different folks in all probability did not discover it, however we did. We are going to take a look at every part. We observed plenty of various things. However these aren’t the issues we will get into proper now.
“Proper now we’re simply celebrating that we had an amazing occasion, athletes and followers loved it. We’ll proceed to enhance.”
