A group of unsecured creditors are taking legal action against  former  Olympic  Champion  Michael  Johnson  after  accusing  the  brain  behind  Grand  Slam  Track  project  of ‘secretly’ paying himself $500,000 as Grand Slam track collapsed.

Johnson has been accused of awarding himself  the  payment  just days before the project collapsed and while the venture still owed athletes and creditors millions  of  dollars.

Johnson is also accused of “feigning to the public” his care for the interest of athletes in the legal filing made at the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The filing reveals that Johnson was himself owed $2.2m by Grand Slam Track, but it alleges he took out $500,000  on June 4 when he knew it was in dire straits.

Another key accusation in the filing is that Johnson has prioritised paying high-profile athletes such as Josh Kerr over other creditors in order to limit reputation damage.

The filing  also  accuse  Grand  Slam Track of publicly claiming to have $30m in funding when it in fact had only raised $13m, with  money from Eldridge Industries not contractually secured.

GST was marketed as a project to “save athletics”, although it only featured some track events and excluded field disciplines. 

The inaugural season featured four meets – one in Jamaica and three in the USA – with ambitious plans to stage meets in Europe and draw in young sports fans around the globe.