Parting Thoughts From Experiencing The First-Ever Athlos Meet In New York City

By Chris Chavez

NEW YORK – There’d been excitement building around Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos NYC meet since he stepped off the stage with Gabby Thomas at The Business of Women's Sports Summit in New York City back in April. And after months of planning, we finally got to experience one of track’s newest ventures aimed at increasing the visibility and profile of the sport’s top stars at Icahn Stadium.

CITIUS MAG was proud to partner with Athlos to put on a pre-race show before the meet and we had our own first with an all-women’s broadcast hosted by Serenity Douglas, two-time World Championship medalist Talitha Diggs and two-time Olympian and Jamaican record holder Aisha Praught-Leer.

Here are my parting thoughts from the first-ever Athlos meet in New York City: 

These Women Got Paid – Especially Brittany Brown

The meet made an instant splash with its prize money breakdown, especially when contrasted with the Diamond League, where top prize at series meets was $10,000 last year, and $30,000 at the Diamond League final. Athlos awarded $60,000 to the respective winners of each of the six races. The last place runner (6th) still walked away from the meet with $2,500. 

This made it an easier call for many of the top stars to extend their season into late September and that’s at least part of why at least four Olympic champions lined up on Thursday night.

The biggest financial winner was 200m Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown, who earned $85,000 for 33.13 seconds of racing – a runner-up finish in the 100m ($25,000) and 200m ($60,000). This has easily been the most lucrative year of her career. After finishing second in the 200m at the U.S. Olympic Trials ($8,800), she signed a new contract with Nike and nabbed five podium finishes at Diamond League meets, including a 200m victory in the Diamond League final. In total, she made $54,000 off racing five Diamond League meets. 

Brittany Brown Prize Money Earnings In 2024:

– Prefontaine Classic 100m (8th place) – $500

– Stockholm Diamond League (3rd place) – $3,500

– Oslo Diamond League (1st place) – $10,000

– U.S. Olympic Trials 200m (2nd place) – $8,800

– Rome Diamond League 200m (1st place) – $10,000

– Brussels Diamond League Final 200m (1st place) – $30,000

– Athlos NYC 100m (2nd place) – $25,000

– Athlos NYC 200m (1st place) – $60,000

Total: $147,800

The addition of Athlos and Grand Slam Track’s looming debut (where winners will take home $100,000 for winning each Slam, by racing twice a weekend) has already forced the Diamond League to up its prize money. 

On Sept. 18th, the series announced that $500,000 in total prize money would be awarded at each of the 14 series meets and $2.24 million would be on the line in the Diamond League final. ($663,000 total was offered up at Athlos, across just six events.) How the Diamond League’s new prize money structure breaks down remains a bit unclear as the press release just noted: “The total prize money per discipline will be between $30,000 and $50,000 at the series meetings and between $60,000 and $100,000 at the final.”

The Athlete Experience Was A Highlight

The athletes were quick to applaud the organizers for giving them VIP treatment from the moment they each arrived in New York City. This is certainly much easier to do with just 35 athletes to take care of, but the attention to detail did not go unnoticed.

– Gifts awaited them when they arrived in their hotel rooms.

– They all participated in a media day to take photos and videos that would be used on Athlos’ channels and the race broadcast.

– The group paid a visit to Times Square to see themselves on billboards.

– Most of the women had their make-up done by a team representing Serena Williams’ Wyn Beauty. 

– A fashion walk-in at Icahn allowed them to get their photos taken in non-sportswear before the meet.

– Athletes were able to get up close to Megan Thee Stallion’s concert.

– An afterparty was arranged by Ohanian and his team in Manhattan.

“They really thought about everything,” 1500m runner Cory McGee said. “We showed up and we got a credit card voucher, Uber coupons and all this stuff that we’re usually paying out of pocket for and it was covered.”

The Debut Of Smaller Bibs Made For Women

Athlos debuted the first-ever bib designed specifically for a woman’s torso, which did not require any safety pins. 

Athlos chief marketing officer Kayla Green told CITIUS MAG’s pre-race show that the idea to change from conventional bibs came from texting 100m hurdler Alaysha Johnson, who informed her that they tend to flap in the wind because traditional bibs are made for a men’s longer top and women’s tend to be smaller.

“It’s so important that we get to prove product-market fit and look at the things that worked really well,” Green said. 

She reached out to their race operations team and they worked on the smaller models for Athlos. New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs found Green before the start of the race and thanked her for the adjustment.

A Costly False Start Controversy

The night started with the 100m hurdles and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn managed to take the victory in 12.36 but clearly flinched just before the start, which was caught on the race broadcast. Olympic champion Masai Russell had a slight delay in her start but closed well enough to finish third in 12.44. After the race, she embraced Camacho-Quinn but was frustrated with the flinch and asked her agent to protest the result. (The blocks used at Thursday night’s meet were the same ones that drew criticism from Fred Kerley in June.)

“As anyone can see, there was a lot of flinching going on at the start line so that kind of affected me,” Russell told reporters. “I was playing catch up the whole entire race so – it’s some big prize money on the line and I think the person who ran the legal race should get the prize money that they deserve.”

At the end of the night, the results held up and Camacho-Quinn kept her Tiffany crown while extending her winning streak to six consecutive finals since the Olympics. The good news, it will serve as good fuel for Russell and a potential rivalry with Camacho-Quinn since they will race at least four times in 2025 as Racers in Grand Slam Track.

Icahn Stadium Could Use Some Help

Icahn Stadium has its historic allure as the home to Usain Bolt’s first 100m world record but after experiencing the NYC Diamond League a decade ago, a few editions of the NYC Grand Prix and now Athlos, I’ve concluded that it is just not the best venue for a professional meet – and this is coming from a New York native, who ran countless high school races and practices there.

– The backstretch and turns feel empty.

– Though very much in New York City, its Randalls Island location is pretty tough to get to via public transit for most New Yorkers, via Citi Bike (there’s limited dock space on the island), and even personal car (there’s limited parking, too).

– The smell in the air can sometimes be terrible due to the proximity to the Wards Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. At the confluence of two rivers tidal straits, even if the typically strong winds aren’t bringing in sewage smells, they’re likely impacting the athletes’ performances.

– Without any field events, the stage was constructed in front of the stands on the infield but the rest of it went unused – although the facility may be cautious of the $3 million to upgrade the pitch for soccer.

The stadium capacity of 5,000 was nearly full and though some may have thought fans would only be there for the Meg Thee Stallion concert, the attendance looked consistent from the meet through the musical performances.

Broadcast And Other Experience Takeaways

At the end of the night, I went back and watched some of the broadcast coverage and immediately it felt different.  

– The intro package – narrated by Serena Williams! – to underscore the talent and dedication of these athletes was great. 

– Cari Champion quarterbacked the main desk to set up the overall flow of the night, then would toss it over to Paul Swangard and Sanya Richards-Ross for race calls; then there was Robin Arzon for VIP interviews trackside and on-stage Tiffany crowning ceremonies, plus Lara Overton for insights from the call room and other interviews. The team did a great job.

– At one point, the commentators openly sharing betting picks to tie in a sportsbook partner was something I don’t think I’ve seen in any other major U.S. meet broadcast.

– Race replays appeared to have great lighting and higher frames per second when showcasing their super slow-mo capabilities. 

With just six races on the schedule, the meet took an intentional approach and spaced out the races by 20 minutes, which allowed for the broadcast to roll video packages highlighting the athletes and additional storytelling around the meet through interviews. 

A common TV broadcast criticism I remember hearing during the Olympics for NBC was about the “celebrification” of the Games with the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Colin Jost, Kelly Clarkson, Leslie Jones and Snoop Dogg jumping on the mic here and there. 

Of course, there’s a crowd that will always prefer the more traditional broadcast with just race commentary, play-by-play and analysis. But I think the important thing to remember about an event like Athlos is the goal of hooking a non-track fan to tune into a track meet. Sure, I’d love for the likes of Tiara Williams, Serenity Douglas, Katelyn Hutchison, or Ali Feller to be tasked with post-race interviews because of their connections to the track and field/running space, but combined they don’t have the reach of Arzon’s one million Instagram followers. A good chunk of those followers probably watched the Olympics but never a Diamond League meet. Her tie to the meet meant her fans had a higher likelihood of watching Athlos than any Diamond League meet ever. That’s a win.

Final viewership numbers haven’t been published yet but as of 1 p.m. ET on Friday, the X broadcast has amassed 2.4 million views and YouTube drew 44K+ viewers. The meet also streamed on ESPN+, DAZN and World Athletics’ Inside Track. It will be televised again on ESPN2 on Sunday.

For a bit of the fan experience, I went into the stands to watch a few of the races with some of my Central Park Track Club teammates. The fans were very engaged, receptive to the crowd work, and seemed to have a good time dancing and jamming out while DJ D-Nice played hits. (Mac Fleet says that’s the most enthusiastic crowd he’s seen since the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.) 

There were only a few moments when the 20 minutes between events felt like a lot of time to kill. It’s nitpicking to ask for more for an event that has already invested so much, knowing it is taking a financial hit for its debut – but there was an itch for maybe one other piece of entertainment between events. The meet had its audio/music struggles at times in-stadium but I was a fan of what they wanted to accomplish with the walk-out songs. (I was an especially big fan of Faith Kipyegon’s choice of Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).)” 

I will say the VIP area looked like a lot of fun because of the proximity to the races, being able to move around between events, free food, and run-ins with celebrities including Flavor Flav, Sean Evans, Marsai Martin and Lupita Nyong'o. Some day, this podcaster from New York will get VIP treatment – mark my words!

What’s Next For Athlos?

What the 776 team did on Thursday night was a strong first hack at something new to them. There are track event organizers who could be handed Athlos’ event management budget and prize money purse and would not be able to come close to replicating the fun atmosphere and experience that was put on. 

Green says the Athlos team has connected with World Athletics and CEO Jon Ridgeon, who has been encouraging of the event.

“We are newcomers in the sport,” Green said. “We have to earn our way in and we have to gain the trust and respect of the track community.”

Ohanian hinted that this would not be the only Athlos meet and is committed to more in the future.

“One little ripple and you start seeing this chain reaction,” Ohanian said. “All it does is make me hungrier. Because, if that’s all that an announcement did. Just wait until folks see this. Let’s keep pushing this further… I want to make Athlos one of the best New York sporting events of the year. Period. I want you to put that time on your calendar – if you can get a ticket. Because this is excellence. It’s cultural excellence. It’s athletic excellence. And if you can win in New York City, you can do it anywhere. And so it begs the question – do you do it in other places?”

Keep up with all things track and field by following us across Instagram, X, and YouTube. Catch the latest episodes of the CITIUS MAG Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. For more, subscribe to The Lap Count and CITIUS MAG Newsletter for the top running news delivered straight to your inbox.