ATHLOS 2024: An Incredible Night Of Women’s Track Racing in NYC

Did you see Athlos NYC? 

A first of its kind invitation track meet for the world’s fastest women took place at the Icahn Stadium in New York City last night. 

The showcase event saw 35 women from 14 countries, including 30 Olympians, competing at six distances to win some of the biggest prize money available in track and field.

It was the season finale in an Olympic year, and a spectacle of incredible women’s track racing. There was a live broadcast, a race starting every 20 minutes, walk out music by the trackside DJ, celebs in the crowd, spotlights on all athletes, fireworks, and it was loud and a lot of fun as we saw races over 100m hurdles, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m.

Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and husband of Serena Williams, came up with ATHLOS after noticing how little attention there is on track racing, and how even after an Olympic year, the best runners don’t have the same profile, opportunities or pay days as athletes in other sports.

Ohanian spoke to the athletes and has been guided by them in what they want ATHLOS to be. They wore bibs designed to fit a woman’s kit. Instead of medals, winners received a Tiffany crown. First place prize money was $60,000, which filtered down as $25,000 for second, then $10,000, $8,000, $5,000 and $2,500. And 10% of all revenue was split evenly between the 36 athletes on top of the prize money.

After the six track races, the evening ended with a performance by Megan Thee Stallion. 

Here are the results from the inaugural ATHLOS meet.

100m Hurdles

1. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, 12.36
2. Alaysha Johnson, 12.43
3. Masai Russell, 12.44

100m

1. Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, 10.98
2. Brittany Brown, 11.05
3. Candace Hill, 11.14

200m

1. Brittany Brown, 22.18
2. Gabby Thomas, 22.21
3. Anavia Battle, 22.34

400m

1. Marileidy Paulino, 49.59
2. Alexis Holmes, 49.99
3. Salwa Eid Naser, 50.40

800m

1. Tsige Duguma, 1:57.43
2. Mary Moraa, 1:58.05
3. Natoya Goule-Toppin, 1:58.63

1500m

1. Faith Kipyegon, 4:04.79
2. Diribe Welteji, 4:05.58
3. Susan Ejore-Sanders, 4:06.25

Some notable performances here include Faith Kipyegon continuing her remarkable unbeaten run in 1500m. Marileidy Paulino crowned a perfect year by winning all nine races she started, including Olympic gold, while running sub-50 in eight of them. And Brittany Brown ran the 100m-200m double, finishing second and first respectively.

This is a brilliant finale to the track season, and it’s another impactful shift in attention towards running and showcasing superstars to a bigger audience.

We’ve now got the Netflix series Sprint. We’ve just had the Olympic Games, so interest is at a peak. Grand Slam Track is coming in 2025, and that’s prompted the diamond League to significantly increase their prize fund for the year. At the end of 2025 we’ve got a World Championship. And while this was the first ATHLOS, it won’t be the last.

2024 has been a great year for track and running in general, and 2025 looks set to be even more exciting. 

You can see the YouTube broadcast of the track meet here. 

Image taken from ATHLOS on X