One of the few track and field athletes to cross over into mainstream celebrity status in the crowded sports marketing field was the “unstoppable” sprinter Michael Johnson, he of the golden spikes, gold medals, world records and distinctive upright running form.

Heavily promoted by Nike, which designed for him golden spikes, Johnson won both the 200 and 400 meters at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and defended his 400 title four years later at the Sydney Olympics. He was written and talked about by non-track fans and was featured on a Wheaties box; his name became synonymous with speed and sprinting, and while his world records have been broken, he is still considered one of the best sprinters ever.

Now, fans will see if Johnson, 57, still has a golden touch with the new track series, Grand Slam Track, he is launching this spring. The unique four-meet series features 48 of the world’s top track athletes, including three Olympians with local connections; Boulder native and Niwot High School grad Elise Cranny and Yared Nuguse, the American mile record holder, both live here, and Japanese multi-national record holder Nozomi Tanaka, represented by long-time Boulder sports agent Brendan Reilly.

The trio and the other “Racers” are part of a unique format set up by Johnson for the Grand Slam. In each race group, four contracted “Racers” will face four added runners, comprising eight-person fields in racer event categories ranging from short and long sprints to short and long distance. The runners will race two of the three days of each of four weekend meets in selected cities, first in Kingston, Jamaica, April 4-6, followed by Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

“What I love most about Grand Slam Track is it will make track exciting to all sports fans —a limited number of events with a limited field of only the best athletes in the world competing head-to-head, without pacers, for large sums of money; what is more fun than that?” said Longmont’s Marty Kibiloski, a former collegiate athlete so much of a track fan that he spent part of his honeymoon with wife, Bronwyn, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics “to witness (Johnson’s) gold shoes cross the finish line in a new world record on Aug. 1.

“I said to Bronwyn, ‘This may not be a romantic way to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but it sure is memorable!’”

I was a bit surprised to see this new series pop up last fall in an already full international track and field calendar. From the Olympic Games to the World Athletics Championships to the venerable European Diamond League circuit, as well as important national championships, there would not seem to be much room for another series of races featuring the best in the world.

But that is exactly what is happening: The world’s best gathering four weekends each spring for head-to-head competition — with no pacers allowed. This new slam has glam, as some of the most recognizable track names from the Paris Olympics, including photogenic stars such as hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, have signed on.

Cranny and Tanaka are part of the long distance group, racing 3000 meters and 5000 meters on different days; Nuguse is in the short distance group, racing 800 meters and 1500 meters. That star-studded group includes the three medallists from the Paris Olympic 1500 meter finals, a race already considered a classic. Competition, and not paced record attempts, as the popularity of that Paris 1500 meters showed, has been the essence of track and field since the first Olympic Games back in 776 B.C.

The focus in some international races in recent years has been on chasing times, with pacemakers up front for part of the race, then dropping out, with pacer lights guiding them along the inside rail. That can sometimes leave out the psychology and quick decision making, and bumps that can come in head to head racing. Think of Roger Bannister’s victory over Landy in the “Miracle Mile” at the 1954 Empire Games, Landy in the lead as he rounded the final curve, then looking over his left shoulder while Bannister passes him on the right.

Grand Slam Track is a throwback to old-school racing, updated to the modern social media era. Organizers are using all the flash and color of social media in getting the word out and building excitement. The athlete cards are cool, and the website is state of the art.

Tanaka is “over the moon” to get the chance to compete in the Grand Slam Track tour, her agent, Brendan Reilly said. “She loves to race, and runs over 30 meets per year, which is one reason the GST organizers wanted her. She also likes the competitive format of no pacemakers and no wave lights, similar to the Olympics and World Championships.”

Tanaka’s presence as the only Asian selected “Racer” signed to compete in all meets this year will likely garner much media attention in Japan for the Grand Slam as the 2025 World Athletic Championships are set for Tokyo this summer, Reilly added.

The full roster of 48 selected Racers who have signed on for the 2025 Grand Slam Track League season, along with their profiles and “athlete cards,” are on grandslamtrack.com/racers/. Click on Tanaka, Cranny, Nuguse and the others to read their backgrounds and racing history and how they look to be stacking up against each other come April 1. Then, as is said in another sport, “Let’s get ready to rumble!”

Or better yet, to paraphrase the late, great Chicago Cubs first baseman Ernie Banks: “Let’s race two this weekend.”