Athlos is headed back to New York City on October 10 and organizers have revealed that the meet is already loaded with big names for this year’s roster.
The event will return to a familiar setting, with Icahn Stadium once again serving as the stage after last year’s all-women meet received praise for high production value and increased prize payouts for participants. This year’s meet in October will likely be the final appearance for all of its competitor and arrives three weeks after the World Athletics Outdoor Championships in Tokyo.
Gabby Thomas, Marileidy Paulino, Masai Russell, Brittany Brown and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn have all be announced as the first batch of participants and lead the way for a roster that is likely be filled quickly.
Last year’s event, held in September, was a post-Olympic victory lap for stars like Thomas and Faith Kipyegon and drew attention for the fan experience, concert-like atmosphere and large cash prizes that easily surpassed Diamond League meets and other track and field events. First place event winners took home $60,000 with $25,000 for second, $10,000 for third place, $8,000 for fourth and $5,000 for fifth.
The meet format and payouts proved to be a bonus for some competitors last year, especially Brittany Brown, who pocketed $85,000 along with a silver Tiffany crown after she won the 100m and took second in the 200m.
“We want to go bigger and do it even better this year,” Kayla Green, Athlos chief marketing officer said in a story published in Runner’s World. “We have always really prided ourselves on sitting at the cross section of sport and culture. And for us, the music component was a real way to start to bring new fans into the sport. That’s something that’s in our DNA and will always be in our DNA.”
Meanwhile, Green noted that the format of this year’s event would follow the blueprint set at the inaugural meet. Last September, competitors clashed in six events with the 100m hurdles, 100m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 200m races taking center stage before the night concluded with a performance by Megan Thee Stallion.
Athlos is the brainchild of Alexis Ohanian, who was outspoken in 2024 about wanting to help boost track and field. His investment was evident in last year’s event and signaled a shift in new ventures challenging the structure of the sport as others have since followed suit
Next month, the Michael Johnson-led Grand Slam Track kicks off its inaugural meet in Kingston, Jamaica and has already promised the highest cash payouts in track, with event winners taking home $100,000 along with a goal of pushing engaging matchups. Thomas is part of the league along with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Josh Kerr, Cole Hocker and a host of top talent.
And last month, Mo Farah was announced as part of RunGP, a distance event that will bring children, amateur runners and elite athletes to Formula 1 race tracks all over the world.
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