Daryll Neita has become the first British woman to join Michael Johnson’s new track league – and says the big-money series can aid her quest to win a maiden individual global medal.
The 28-year-old will race in the 100m and 200m at the Grand Slam Track events in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles between April and June next year.
Neita – who joins fellow Brits Josh Kerr and Matthew Hudson-Smith in signing up for the breakaway league – could win as much as $400,000 (£316,00) if she tops her women’s short sprints category at all four meets.
But she also sees the inaugural GST series as perfect preparation for September’s World Championships, where she will look to better her respective fourth and fifth place finishes in the 100m and 200m at the Paris Olympics.
‘I truly believe I can get individual medals,’ Neita told Mail Sport. ‘So this is fantastic because it’s going to give me a really good sense of competition early on in the season, then I’ll be able to go back to work and then be ready for the World Championships.
‘There’s probably no better way to prepare than such a high level of competition, battling week in, week out with the best.
Daryll Neita has become the first British woman to join Michael Johnson’s new track league
Johnson (left) is set to launch his big-money track league in Jamaica next April
‘I’m excited for that back-to-back racing and really proving how good I can be. It’s head to heads everywhere and that is a positive thing. It’s nice to spice it up.’
Neita is the second women’s sprinter to confirm her participation in GST after American Melissa Jefferson, the Olympic 100m bronze medallist. Other stars, including Olympic 100m winner Julien Alfred, world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson and Olympic 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas are yet to sign up.
Talks with athletes, though, are ongoing and Neita hopes other Brits take the plunge, including her relay team-mate and individual rival, Dina Asher-Smith.
‘To be the first British lady announced is truly amazing and I would hope that more Brits will be included,’ said Neita. ‘It’s such a great opportunity and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
‘It feels amazing to be a part of the first generation of what I think is going to be a big evolution for track and field, at a time when women’s sprinting is so on fire.’
As a GST ‘racer’, Neita will receive a base compensation to run in all four meets, with the winners of each category – worked out by combining the results of both their races – receiving prize money of $100,000 (£79,000) at each event.
That is more than the $70,000 on offer for a gold medallist at the last World Championships in 2023, or the $50,000 which went to winners at the Olympics.
‘It’s quite nice, no one is going to shy away from that,’ said Neita when asked about the prize pot. ‘It’s amazing to see that kind of investment coming into my sport.
Neita is hopeful other British stars take the plunge and join, including Dina Asher-Smith
The sprinter admits it was ‘bittersweet’ to finish fourth in the 100m final at the Paris Olympics
Neita was part of Britain’s silver medal winning women’s 4x100m squad at the Olympics
‘You’d hear about the days where athletes were walking away with X amount, and you would think, “Wow, really? In track and field?”. It just feels like we’re getting a taste of what that must have been like. The incentive is great and it will really heighten the sense of competition.’
Mail Sport reported last week that UK Athletics rejected the chance to host one of the three-day GST meets at the London Stadium over concerns they would not sell enough tickets and it would lose them money. But Neita believes her home city has missed a trick, will all four events now being held in North America.
‘That is definitely sad because the London Stadium is my favourite stadium of all time,’ she admitted. ‘Every time I’m at the London Diamond League, it seems to be a sell-out. So I do think the people of London and Britain would have loved that competition.
‘Especially after such an incredible Olympics and 2024 season, I think we would have a lot more people engaged and wanting to watch. But maybe it’s something that could happen in the future.’
Right now, Neita is back in training in her adopted home of Padua, northern Italy, as she gears up for the 2025 season full of confidence after her strong performance in Paris, which included a 4x100m relay silver medal.
‘Paris was so iconic,’ she added. ‘It was bittersweet in that 100m to get the fourth place and be so close to the medal. But on reflection, I made history as the first British athlete in 64 years to place that high in the final, so I was really proud of myself.
‘I just have keep going and keep my eyes on the prize, especially for LA. It’s about me carrying on the same trajectory and to keep believing, keep working hard and keep running fast.’