Earlier this year, entrepreneur and husband of tennis legend Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian, announced that in his latest endeavor to invest in and build up women’s sports, he’d be sponsoring an all-women’s track meet in New York City: Athlos NYC. Ohanian worked with Harvard graduate and 200m Olympic gold medalist, Gabby Thomas, to bring Athlos to life. In a moment of immense growth for women’s sports and track and field in particular, Athlos proves the power of community and connectivity for women athletes and shows that women’s sports aren’t just something to watch, but something to invest in.
We spoke with some of the women who competed in the meet to discuss what this event meant to them, the women’s track community, and young fans of the sport.
Athlos: A New Kind of Track Meet
Athlos NYC was different from the typical professional track meet in many ways. It was the first and biggest woman-only professional meet and offered double the prize purse of the Diamond League, the World Athletics’ major race circuit. It also featured a “black carpet” where athletes walked to the event in style, a pre-race media day where athletes could have their hair and makeup done for photoshoots, a bedazzled Tiffany & Co. crown to the winner of each event, and a post-meet concert by Megan Thee Stallion. In many ways, it was more of a celebration of the women competing than a high-pressure meet.
“[Athlos] is just matching our energy,” says Cory Mcgee, 2021 Olympic distance runner, ahead of competing in the 1500m. “The noise is just loud and fun. If you were to ask me in high school about my dream track event, it would be fashion show meets track. And that kind of feels like the direction this is going. It’s a win for sure.”
Community and Connectivity
Not only was Athlos a place of athletic excellence and a renewed energy for the future of women’s sports, but it was also a place where these athletes could end their season feeling seen, heard, and supported by the women’s track community. Athletes from the United States, Australia, Jamaica, Kenya, and more took part in the meet and surrounding events much differently than they’re used to. Instead of anxiously skirting around each other in a prep room before a race and dispersing to their respective teams afterward, the women celebrated each other’s presence at a historic meet with uplifting, validating experiences that bookended the actual competition.
By emphasizing the aspects that brought athletes closer together, especially in a very individual sport like track, Athlos asserts the power of sports to foster community across team allegiances by funding spaces for women to connect and make history. This environment invites athletes to be authentic while striving for greatness, and to think about the impact they have on the sport individually and as a collective force. Powerfully, Tonea Marshall, the 2023 US runner-up in the 60m hurdles, said Athlos’ environment made her feel like she was “wanted.” “It feels like you have a voice,” she says.
“It’s giving us the visibility we need and it’s honestly giving us our voice. As women in sports, especially in track and field, an event like this is very important to grow the sport and to allow little girls to see that you can do more beyond high school track, beyond college track.”
Sponsorship and Investment: Increasing VISibility
Through Ohanian’s 776 Foundation, Athlos NYC offered the largest pool of prize money in the history of track and field, with $60,000 and a Tiffany crown going to each event winner. Additionally, the event was sponsored by major corporations like Toyota, Strava, StubHub, and World Athletics. For a growing sport like track and field, this sizable investment isn’t returned instantly, but rather provides the catalyst for greater viewership and profit to emerge: VISibility.
Just as NIL and social media exposure brought a new wave of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Camryn Brink fans to college women’s basketball and the WNBA, events like Athlos can invest in the popularity of the sport. By putting money into creating experiences that uplift women athletes and expose more general audiences to the stars of women’s track, the sport can grow. Providing such a large purse not only reaffirms the value of what women athletes do for those competing and those at home, but also makes a powerful statement about the way serious, dedicated investment is crucial to the advancement of the sport.
“To have somebody like Alexis, who is putting his money where his mouth is, is even more encouraging that the investment for women’s sports is now and you have to invest because the cost of inaction is great,” says Ari Chambers, an ESPN women’s sports commentator. Her perspective is one that Ohanian’s investment encourages in other entrepreneurs: Investing in women’s sports is a good business decision. But, beyond that, events like Athlos let women athletes feel worthy of that kind of investment in their talents. For Torre Lewis, the Australian 100m record holder, Athlos proved to her that “women can really put on a show by ourselves,” and that “what we do is enough.”
The Future of Women’s Track and Field
There are two key movements in sports and entertainment that have presented themselves for the entrepreneurs and athletes involved in Athlos: The tremendous growth of viewership for women’s sports and the momentum surrounding track and field after a successful and entertaining Olympic Games, including the emergence of the Grand Slam professional track league. Ohanian and Thomas skillfully combined these movements to capitalize on a revolutionary time period for women’s track and field, helping athletes to be seen and setting the tone for future events. “It’s time to move the sport forward. we’re seeing a lot of progress in sports, especially women’s sports and I’d love for track and field to be apart of that,” Thomas says.
The tone of the athletes we spoke with was hopeful and validated. The recurring theme of Athlos being a track meet that these incredible athletes “deserve” was a powerful statement of the value of elevating women’s athletic spaces into places of community, VISibility, and fun. The very willingness of people like Ohanian and Athlos’ various sponsors to put large sums of money towards uplifting women athletes affirms their talent and helps them imagine a future where their talents are recognized financially and they have the platform to inspire.
“I hope to see events like this going forward with athletics putting a lot of money into women’s races and motivating young girls around the world,” says Faith Kipyegon, the 1500m world record holder and four-time Olympic medalist from Kenya.
“[Athlos] is giving us the visibility we need and it’s giving us our voice,” says Celera Barnes, a U.S. sprinter and VIS Mentor. “As women in sports, especially in track and field, an event like this is very important to grow the sport and to allow little girls to see that you can do more beyond high school track, beyond college track.”
Athlos NYC was a monumental move for women’s track that invested in the enjoyment, VISibility, and talent of the women, simply because it’s what they deserve. This meet helps set the tone of emphasis on listening to the voices of women athletes and providing them with places to shine.
