The inaugural season of the new professional track series is set to kick off in Kingston, Jamaica, with lofty goals of revolutionizing the sport.

Michael Johnson wants to make one thing clear: track doesn’t need saving. But he does think it needs improving.

While the new league has a starry field of signed Racers, including the likes of Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas and surprise 1500m gold medallist Cole Hocker, the field is also notable for its absences: Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Keely Hodgkinson, and Noah Lyles, for example.