Two-time Canadian Olympian and 800m nationwide report holder Marco Arop is owed US$141,250 from the now-bankrupt athletics startup Grand Slam Observe (GST) for the 2025 season.
Earlier this week, a brand new submitting within the chapter proceedings confirmed how a lot worse Grand Slam Observe’s monetary state of affairs is than beforehand believed. The startup, which put cash on the forefront of its mannequin, reportedly owes greater than US$40 million to round 300 collectors, together with Arop.
Arop gained the short-distance class on the Philadelphia Slam and completed second in the identical class in Kingston and Miami, incomes a complete of US$200,000 in prize cash, not together with look charges. In October, GST acquired US$5.5 million in emergency funding from Winners Alliance, which paid athletes roughly half of what they had been owed.
Arop’s company, Astra Companions, launched a press release on the chapter proceedings, saying it was shocked to see GST prioritizing a 2026 season given the quantities owed to greater than 150 athletes and over 100 service distributors.
“Transferring ahead with planning for 2026 occasions with out making athletes and different collectors entire for the intensive 2025 money owed undermines belief throughout the complete ecosystem and units a harmful precedent for athletes, distributors and future companions alike,” the assertion learn.
“We name on Grand Slam Observe to right away prioritize the passable compensation of all excellent money owed by means of the reorganization course of earlier than making an attempt to stage further occasions or pursue new industrial alternatives. Accountability should come earlier than enlargement, and credibility should be rebuilt by means of motion—not guarantees.”
The company added that its athletes supported GST in good religion after league founder Michael Johnson claimed the league had US$30 million in funding. It wasn’t till after the Philadelphia occasion that it grew to become clear there have been critical monetary points.
In December, GST and its companions filed for Chapter 11 chapter within the U.S. Chapter Court docket for the District of Delaware. The submitting permits GST to proceed working whereas reorganizing its funds, quite than shutting down fully. It additionally protects the league from lawsuits and permits it to borrow cash beneath courtroom approval.
Arop was the one Canadian athlete to signal on with Johnson’s GST within the racer class, which means he was beneath contract to compete in any respect meets. Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot every competed at one GST occasion as challengers. All three athletes are reportedly nonetheless owed five-figure sums from the league.
