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Athlos NYC Is a New Elite Women’s Track Meet—and a Megan Thee Stallion Concert

taylor dutch
·7 min read

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If you’re already missing the nonstop action of track and field at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, don’t worry—there’s another upcoming competition that should be well worth the hype.

This week, some of the fastest women in the world will meet for a track-and-field showdown unlike any other. Under the lights in New York City, the first-ever Athlos NYC will bring together the star power of Olympic champions and world record-holders (plus a major must-see on the music front) in a women’s-only competition aimed to modernize the sport and recognize the athletes.

Intrigued? Let us bring you up to speed on everything you need to know about this blistering fast new track event.

When and where will Athlos be held?

Very soon! The Athlos meet will take place on Thursday, September 26 at Icahn Stadium in New York City. Located on Randall’s Island, the stadium offers seating for 5,000, and also hosts home games for the New York City Football Club.

How was Athlos created?

News of the inaugural event broke in the spring when Alexis Ohanian, Reddit cofounder and Serena Williams’s husband, shared that his venture capital firm Seven Seven Six invested in women’s track with the 776 Invitational. He told ESPN in April that he started following trends in professional track and field last year, and saw a need to address the lack of media coverage and broadcast opportunities outside of the Olympic cycle.

“Every four years, during the Olympics, this is a really popular sport, and then all the coverage and everything seems to go away,” Ohanian told ESPN.

Ohanian, who is also the principal owner and founding investor in Angel City FC and Los Angeles Golf Club, said he examined the Diamond League structure—the premiere circuit for pro track-and field-athletes—and began sending messages to athletes to learn more about the sport’s landscape. In the process, he connected with Olympic 200-meter champion Gabby Thomas, who eventually became a partner in creating Athlos NYC.

“Track and field is a very underfunded sport, especially not in Olympics years, so I do think having that additional resource will mean a lot to the athletes and will help a lot of people get into the sport and stay in the sport which ultimately creates a better product,” Thomas told ESPN.

And thus, the meet, which was renamed Athlos—the Greek word means “contest or trial” in relation to athletic feats—was born.

How many races will there be?

Athlos will include six races: the 100-meter hurdles, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1500 meters. It’s a tighter schedule compared to most elite track meets, which usually feature more events and longer distances.

And each race is slated to be a good one: Several legends and A-listers will hit the start line in each event, including Thomas and Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown (in the 200 meters); 800-meter world champion Mary Moraa and US champion Nia Akins (in the 800 meters); and three-time Olympic 1500-meter champion Faith Kipyegon (in the 1500 meters), among other big names. All in all, a total of 36 women will take part in the competition.

What makes Athlos different from other track-and-field events?

For one, Athlos is going to be a women’s-only event. Secondly, the meet will reward the largest purse ever for a women’s track event, according to ESPN. The first six finishers of each race will earn prize money, with the winner taking home $60,000, second place earning $25,000, and third place claiming $10,000, with $8,000 for fourth, $5,000 for fifth, and $2,500 for sixth place. In August, Ohanian raised the stakes by saying he’d award an additional $60,000 to the athletes who won gold in Paris.

“Most important is this had to be the largest purse in the history of women’s track and field," Ohanian told ESPN. “Why? Because one, I was shocked when I found out what the current highest one was [$30,000 for a final event in the Diamond League]. And two, there is a healthy tension that exists, which is the prize money should be directly correlated or related to the sort of scale and scope of the event itself.” Ohanian added that he’s happy to be the person who offers a higher purse to top athletes who are battling for Olympic medals on the world stage.

In addition to the historic prize structure, the athletes participating will also earn more through the meet’s unique giveback program. As shared on the Athlos website, 10% of all revenue from ticketing, commercial sponsorship, and broadcast will be redistributed to all competitors who race.

And one more cool difference: Rather than nabbing traditional medals, the top finishers will instead be awarded Tiffany crowns, as Ohanian revealed on CBS Mornings in August.

What’s this about a Megan Thee Stallion performance?!

Believe us, tuning into the headliners for the races will be entertainment enough, but Athlos is pulling out all the stops to make this an event like no other.

Take the runners: Each athlete will have their own walk-out song played by DJ Derrick “D’Nice” Jones.

Then there will be a very special guest to really amp it up. In July, Ohanian announced on Instagram that Megan Thee Stallion will perform at the meet, a massive addition after the three-time Grammy winner’s viral performance as entertainer and host of the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards earlier this month.

After the 2024 Paris Olympic Games ended in August, the rapper shared her excitement about the show on Instagram, writing “Catch me at Athlos NYC, the newest women’s track event with the biggest prize bag in history. Y’all know I’m supporting my girls all day! I’ll be performing a show to celebrate these amazing women like my girl @gabbythomas who just won Gold and many more.”

What are the athletes saying about the meet?

The athletes seem pretty thrilled to face off on the track in this new event. When Kipyegon announced her entry into the 1500-meter race, the world record-holder wrote on Instagram, “It’s with this event that I hope we can inspire women around the world to be the strongest version of themselves.”

Jenna Prandini, a three-time global medalist in the 4x100-meter relay, also expressed her appreciation to meet organizers for recognizing women. “A track meet that’s specifically dedicated to female track athletes is such a huge step forward for our sport,” she said in an Instagram reel.

And as Thomas told ESPN back in April, Athlos has the potential to be a game changer, both for the sport and for the fans who follow it.

“A lot of fans want to see us run, they want to see us compete, they want to be excited, they want to follow our journeys, but when you’re not being compensated for your hard work, it’s hard to make that happen,” Thomas said. “So I think this will really change the trajectory of our sport.”

How can you watch Athlos?

If you can’t make the races in person (tickets are on sale now), there are plenty of places to tune in from home. In an effort to make the meet more accessible, Ohanian announced the broadcast will be available to watch live on ESPN, YouTube, X, and DAZN.

If you can’t catch this meet, can you tune in to Athlos next year?

While Athlos NYC is a singular event right now, Ohanian told ESPN the goal is to expand to more competitions if the demand is high. So we could see more unmissable matchups in the future.

“This is an investment, right? This is not because it feels good. It’s because I think these women are amazing. They’re captivating. They are great, and fans are going to show up in a big way and be really excited to support it,” Ohanian said.

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Originally Appeared on SELF