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Athlos NYC showed what's possible for track in America — but can the idea stick?

28 September 2024Last Update :
Athlos NYC showed what's possible for track in America — but can the idea stick?

NEW YORK — Alaysha Johnson could not contain her joy. Nor did she have any interest in doing so. She batted her lashes, kept her smile wide, belted her raspy laugh and happily posed for every camera.

A season in which Johnson made the Olympic team, and reached the final in Paris, closed with her on a pedestal. A fashion collab with Ryoko Rain. A glam photoshoot in New York City. A hot girl moment with Meg Thee Stallion. Getting her name introduced to a sold-out crowd at Icahn Stadium, with music and fireworks sparkling beneath the night sky. Wearing a custom denim tracksuit by Diesel, which she designed, featuring a bib crafted for her style and torso, for which she lobbied.

And when she finished second in the 100-meter hurdles, posting a time of 12.43 seconds, she earned a $25,000 check with her name on it. The most she’s ever made in a race.

“The way that they put this together,” Johnson said, still beaming, “I wasn’t expecting this, for sure. Especially the walk-in. That was insane. We need to have that every track meet.”

Athlos NYC, a women’s-only sprint showcase, was a vibe. It was an event sanctioned by World Athletics, but it also was a grand party, a celebration of women sprinters.

The event, seeking to capitalize off the sport’s interest following an Olympics, was the answer to a question the sport has been trying to answer for decades: What would it take to get track to catch on in America? Globally, the sport does well. But in the United States, the interest is cyclical.

Thursday night in New York painted a picture of a sentiment that’s been percolating for months. Years. That the sport has a new energy hovering over it, a new opportunity to plant something in the American conscience with genuine hopes it grows.

This night doesn’t prove the sport has legs. But the question of whether track can be an entertaining event, and whether it could be staged away from the Olympic spotlight and still appeal to casual fans? That question certainly felt answered. The possibility and potential was magenta.

Athlos NYC

Track purists may not love it, a concert disguised as a track event. But track alone has clearly not been enough for America.

Many hurdles exist for the sport to stick. The main one is whether it can get to where the masses are — on television. That requires a few things — chief among them is presenting the sport in a way that works for TV. That problem has not been solved despite the sport being wildly entertaining. The sport won’t procure a major TV deal until someone figures it out.

The alternative is a grassroots glow-up. Gradually grow the sport until its more universally familiar. Stack up the buzz-worthy moments. Keep putting these magnetic personalities on display. And hope eventually something happens to elevate it to a new level.

Does America have the patience for the slow play? More importantly, do American investors have the patience for the slow play?

Track events don’t make money. Athlos NYC most certainly did not make money. Most of the 5,000 seats of Icahn Stadium were filled, plus a VIP row on the track that proved popular. The event was streamed live in four places: ESPN+, X/Twitter, Instagram and DAZN. ESPN is airing a replay on Saturday.

“We’ve got to blow the doors off this thing, I’m feeling good about it,” Athlos chief marketing officer Kayla Green said. “I mean, for us, success is someone who might not be a track fan, but they came with a friend. They might have come because they knew Meg was performing. And they look at this track event and they go, this is the most fun I’ve ever had. How have I not been following these girls? How have I not known about them? So for us it’s really broadening that fandom, broadening the reach. Exposing new fans to this incredible sport so that it doesn’t fade away in the next four years.”

Athlos NYC is the effort by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, whose venture capital firm Seven Seven Six is funding this experiment, to repackage track for American viewers. It featured his special formula, a concoction that worked so well in creating the Angel City FC in the National Women’s Soccer League. Dousing the sport with culture and celebrity to draw the eyes of pop culture and give it the mainstream glow. Invest in the athletes, legitimizing their pockets and amenities with some of the standards seen in other major professional sports. Bring a new realm of sponsors, investors, collaborators and industry influencers. All with hopes of fertilizing the soil of the sport.

“It shows what’s possible,” said three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, the marquee name of the event who finished second in the 200-meter race. “It shows what we can do. It shows how fun it can be to show off and support. Track meets should be about this. They should be about having fun, celebrating what we can do, women showing up to the line and just competing. This is just such a great event. I think we can continue. We can do this. Right.”

Thursday was quite the extravaganza. Athlos NYC manufactured magnitude. It wasn’t Paris, and Icahn Stadium is no Stade de France. Nothing evokes drama and significance like those five colorful rings. But Athlos was a valiant attempt to aggrandize the sport and its women stars.

Lighting up the Empire State Building. Giving crowns made by Tiffany & Co. to the winners. Self-producing a live broadcast hosted by the venerable Cari Champion. Fattening the prize money well beyond the norm — $60,000 for first place is twice what the winner of a Diamond League final receives.

“This is how it should be,” Johnson said.

Gabby Thomas

Masai Russell was heated after the 100 hurdles. The reigning Olympic champion in the discipline believed the winner, Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, false-started. Russell was adamant after the race and said the tapes should be reviewed.

If it did cost Russell the race, that’s a $50,000 mistake, as she won $10,000 for her third-place finish. But she also said Ohanian is giving Olympic champions who competed in Thursday’s event a bonus $60,000.

“Anyone can see there was a lot of flinching going on at the starting line,” Russell said. “So that kind of affected me and I was playing catch with the whole entire race. You know, it’s a big prize money on the line, and I think the person who ran the legal race should get the prize money that they deserve. … If the sensors went off and people’s reaction times were faster than what was allowed, then I think that should be taken into account.”

A micro illustration of how these athletes will show up and compete. Imagine when the stakes are even higher.

That’s the bet Athlos is making: Invest and the athletes will provide the returns. It’s a mantra women in sports have been yelling at the top of their lungs for years. Their talent, their competitiveness, their auras, their appeal, will produce. According to whispers on the ground at Athlos, the output of this one-off event cost in the ballpark of $10 million. While Athlos declined to discuss finances, certainly, millions of dollars were spent.

But this only works if millions can be made. This event was a success if a blueprint was provided, or at least a part of one, that shows how to make the sport profitable.

Athlos was non-committal on whether this event will happen again. Green, one of the founding executives of Angel City FC with Ohanian, said a lot will be determined by the ripples from this special event.

The gate was solid. But what will be the buzz that follows? How will the streaming numbers look? Will the audience all but demand they do it again?

Certainly, the athletes will. They absolutely loved it.

Alaysha Johnson is likely still smiling.

(Top photo: Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith of Côte d’Ivoire wins the 100 meters at Athlos NYC on Thursday: Patrick Smith / Athlos / Getty Images for Athlos)

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