London is set to host a star-studded all-female Athlos athletics meeting on 18 September, as founder Alexis Ohanian pursues his vision of creating an "F1 for track and field." Ohanian, husband of tennis legend Serena Williams, has added a London date ahead of the New York meeting, which is in its third year and takes place two weeks later.
Event Details
The London event will be held at StoneX Stadium, a 10,500-capacity venue in Barnet that serves as the home of Saracens rugby union team and Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers. The latter has produced Olympians including Dave Bedford, Daryll Neita, Zharnel Hughes, Ashia Hansen, Natasha Danvers, and Yamilé Aldama.
Athlos is fully owned by Ohanian's venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, which has $900 million in assets. Competing athletes will receive equity in the league if it succeeds. Participants, including 2023 100m world champion and 2024 Olympic silver medallist Sha'Carri Richardson, as well as Paris Games 200m winner Gabby Thomas, will compete for a prize pot of $2.1 million.
Athletes can earn up to $65,000 per individual event, with overall champions receiving an additional $25,000. An athlete winning in both cities could pocket $155,000.
Ohanian's Vision
"I've long been very obsessed with this 'F1 for track and field' analogy," Ohanian told the BBC. "We come to expect the fastest cars in the world to tour the greatest global cities, and for people to come out and watch and celebrate this excellence. I envision Athlos to be a version of that and, as we grow this league, I'd love to add more cities and make Athlos truly global."
He acknowledged the ambition: "We know we're entering into something really ambitious. Ultimately we want to build a league around athletics, which historically has not had commercial success. This is a big moment for us."
Unlike Michael Johnson's failed Grand Slam Track series, Ohanian is proceeding cautiously. After adding the London event in 2026, his ultimate aim is to create a worldwide, season-long league. He has been in discussions with World Athletics, the sport's governing body.
Disciplines and Points
Seven disciplines will be contested in both London and New York: 100m hurdles, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, mile, and long jump. Athletes' combined points will determine the overall event winner.
Ohanian, who sold Reddit for $10 million in 2006 and has since amassed a fortune through other investments, invested $27 million last year to buy 10% of Women's Super League football team Chelsea.
