Just after 10 p.m. on Thursday night, a crowd gathered on the track at Icahn Stadium in New York City. As lights started pulsing across the stage set on the infield, three teenage girls behind me screamed and ran toward it just as Megan Thee Stallion appeared. Her set closed out Athlos NYC, the women’s-only track meet boasting the highest prize purse in the sport.
Most track meets don’t end with a performance from a Grammy Award–winning artist. But Athlos isn’t your typical track meet. It felt more like a highly produced show, from pyrotechnics during the athlete walk-outs, to light-up bracelets that blinked in rhythm with DJ D-Nice’s set, to bestowing the winning runners with a Tiffany crown. Pink and magenta lights flashed around the perimeter of the track. A VIP section with black couches and high-top tables lined the front of the grandstand where celebrities and track and field royalty mingled.
And that was the point. “Normally, track meets are all about track. They’re all about sitting in your seat and watching a race. This is about celebrating track, celebrating the runners,” three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, said during a huddle with press the day before the race.
The concept is simple—showcase women athletes. Thirty-six of the fastest women (with 30 Olympic medals among them). Custom mini bibs that fit the women’s torsos rather than the typical oversized ones. Six races (ranging from 100m to 1500m). Big prize money and revenue-sharing opportunities. (The winner of each race netted $60,000, twice what was paid to the winner of the Diamond League Finals. Second place earned $25,000, while $10,000 was awarded for third, $8,000 for fourth, $5,000 for fifth, and $2,500 for sixth!)
The meet is the brainchild of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian (husband to Serena Williams). After talking to a number of runners, including Thomas, he saw untapped potential and undervalued athletes. “Folks have been making decisions based on legacy media deals and what they think people want,” Ohanian told SELF ahead of the event. “But you miss out on a ton of other storytelling because you’re not getting to the why. You’re not getting into more depth about the athletes, the humans themselves.”
