Cathal Dennehy: Grand Slam Track future uncertain after first season fails to cross finishing line

Over two months after Grand Slam Track's first event, many athletes have not received their full prize money from Kingston, though they’ve been assured they will get it.

The Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia was a success with 30,000 people attending over the two days but the overall season failed to catch fire. Pic: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

Fans of athletics – the kind whose idea of a good Friday night is sitting at home, watching from afar as the world’s best athletes run, jump and throw in some fabled stadium – are not stupid.

They know which events matter, and those that don’t. They know the difference between races they should care about, and those they’re being told to care about. They love the sport, and know it can be better, so they’re generally open-minded to ideas that might improve it. But they also have a razor-sharp radar for PR speak that doesn’t reflect the reality they see.