Many of sport’s top talents shined Thursday night at the inaugural Athlos NYC at New York City’s Icahn Stadium, an event focused on transforming women’s track and field.
And the one night only showcase delivered, with favorites Faith Kipyegon and Marileidy Paulino rising to the occasion, while Brittany Brown cashed in heavily to close a busy year on the track.
There were plenty of headlines across the six events at Athlos NYC, and the evening began with flashy entrances into the stadium as competing athletes and celebrities were greeted by eager fans.
The infield was partly used by a large concert stage, music by a live DJ and the area just outside of the final 100-meter stretch of the track was lined with special viewing areas for VIP guests.
Athlos NYC is the creation of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who looked to boost competition prizes, turn attention to women in the sport and create a concert-like atmosphere that’s a glimpse of big investment paying off in track and field.
Winners of each event took home $60,000 and a crown from Tiffany and Co., while each competitor was guaranteed at least $2,500.
The schedule kicked off with the 100m hurdles as Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn breezed past the barriers in 12.36, as Americans Alaysha Johnson (12.43) and Masai Russell (12.4) crossed the line in second and third.
In the 100m, Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith of Côte d’Ivoire cruised to a 10.98s win, edging Americans Brown (11.05) and Candace Hill (11.14). Ta Lou-Smith had to contend with a strong start from Brown but pressed ahead in the closing moments for the victory.
The 400m finish proved to be the tightest margin of the night as Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic squeezed by American Alexis Holmes in 49.59 seconds, with Holmes sliding under the 50 second mark in 49.99. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser grabbed third in 50.40.
In the 800m, Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma made a late charge on the final turn to hold off Kenya’s Mary Moraa and won in 1:57:43. Mora took second in 1:58.05 and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin was third in 1:58.63.
Kipyegon proudly represented Kenya in the 1,500m and trilled the crowd in with a speedy second lap in 58.45 to win in 4:04.79. Ethiopians Diribe Welteji (4:05.58) and Susan Ejore-Sanders (4:06.25) took second and third.
The competition portion of the evening wrapped with the 200m, with American Gabby Thomas billed as the face of Athlos NYC and the presumed favorite in the race. But Brown’s 22.18 edged Thomas (22.21) while fellow American Anavia Battle grabbed third in 22.34.
For Brown, the event proved to be extremely lucrative as her win in the 200m and second place finish in the 100m were worth $85,000.
The athletes split a prize pool of more than $650,000 along with a share of 10 percent of the commercial revenue.
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