Novel series ready to take off

KINGSTON: What is being billed as a "revolution" for the sport of athletics gets under way in Kingston, Jamaica, today with the opening three-day meet-ing of US Sprinting legend Michael Johnson's ambitious Grand Slam Track series.

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Four-time Olympic gold medallist Johnson believes the four-event cir-cuit represents a landmark moment for track and field, a bold new attempt to reinvigorate interest in the sport after years of decline.

Johnson, 57, says the format of his new circuit -- which promises to create more head-to-head races between the world's best track athletes -- represents a winning formula that will bring eye-balls back to athletics outside the pin-nacle Olympic competition.

"People love racing. People want to see the best of the best. And at the core of Grand Slam Track is the best of the best athletes, only the fastest, compet-ing head-to-head, against one another four times a year," Johnson said of his new circuit last year.

"My objective is to create the oppor-tunities that athletes have always wanted: to go out there on a stage that is worthy of their greatness, with races that mean something."