Athlos organizers announced on Friday that its third New York City event set for October 2 at Icahn Stadium would be canceled and the London showcase would be the only competition held this year.
In a statement shared on social media, organizers said that the “right call” on behalf of its athletes would be to host events that consider the global track and field calendar and they would plan the schedule to reflect that in 2027.
“The decision has been made to not host Athlos New York in October 2026,” organizers said in a statement. “Our goal is that, starting in the 2027 season, Athlos events will move to be aligned with the global athletics calendar. Athlos was founded to put athletes first and that means building a schedule that lets the world’s best female athletes compete healthy and at their peak.”
Backed by Alexis Ohanian, Athlos launched in 2024 and held its first two events in September 2024 and a slightly expanded version in October 2025 with Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island as the host venue.
On May 19, organizers said the competition would return for a third year with the all-women showcase effectively serving as the close to the track and field season. The event format would later be retooled as “Two Cities, One Crown” and the following day, London was unveiled as the other host city and September 18 revealed as the date that narrowly avoided conflicts with the World Ultimate Championship in Budapest a week earlier.
“When Athlos launched, we created a new opportunity at the end of the traditional season,” the statement continued. “It has become clear that Athlos’s long-term home is within the main athletics calendar. Moving our event schedule in 2027 is the right call for our athletes and for the future of the series. We are putting everything into London, which is just about sold out and will be an epic night of record-breaking prizing, speed and crowns for the winners.”
It is unknown if there were other factors that contributed to the event’s cancelation. In preparation of the 2025 competition, the track at Icahn Stadium was resurfaced and weeks before the USA Track and Field outdoor national championships in July, the venue was upgraded again with a replacement scoreboard. The facility is also typically available in the fall months.
Ohanian insisted that the major change was made out of consideration for the athletes and making sure that future dates are “complimentary” during the track and field calendar that includes events like those within the indoor tour, Diamond League and USATF Tour.
“We are all in on London, redoubling our efforts to make London an amazing event,” Ohanian said in a video in a separate post on social media on Friday. “We want to build inside of the athletics schedule for next season so that we’re complimentary to it and well integrated with it.”
Ohanian took responsibility for the New York cancelation and said planning for next year has already started but conceded that asking athletes to appear at the London event and then travel for a finale weeks later would be a “step too far.”
Feedback from athletes ultimately played a major part in adjusting the schedule, even after organizers heavily promoted the two-city showcase that would conclude with a crowning ceremony that was a major feature at both New York City events.
Athletes who competed in both previous events largely praised the competition, higher prize payouts compared to other meets and the lineups featured stars like Faith Kipyegon, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Masai Russell and Gabby Thomas while Brittany Brown cashed in with big wins in 2024 and 2025.
By late Friday, references to the scheduled New York City meet were removed from the Athlos website with the London athlete lineup prominently featured on the home page.
