US Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas was edged out by Brittany Brown as many of the world’s top track athletes competed for record prizes at the inaugural Athlos NYC.
Thomas, winner of three golds at Paris 2024, clocked 22.21 seconds, but was surpassed by Olympic bronze medalist Brown, who crossed the finish line in 22.18.
Kenyan 1,500m world record holder Faith Kipyegon and Olympic 400m champion Marileidy Paulino were among the winners, receiving $60,000 (£44,900) in the women’s-only track invitational.
Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and husband of 23-time tennis Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams, opened the event, which has a record prize pool of $500,000 (£374,000) for a women’s athletics competition.
“I feel like this sport is really changing and growing; I’m excited to be a part of it,” Brown said.
The Diamond League, by comparison, offers a first prize of $15,000 (£11,200) in its 15 series matches, rising to $30,000 (£22,400) for the final.
Thirty-six athletes competed at Icahn Stadium in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 100m hurdles, 800m and 1500m races, with the winners also receiving a crown from New York jewelers Tiffany & Co. .
“I asked these women and said, ‘Hey, what’s your top prize at the end of a season for winning?’ And they said $30,000,” Ohanian told Reuters.
“And I said, ‘Great, I’m going to double it for one race.'”
Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (11.29 seconds) was fourth in the 100 meters, won by Ivory Coast’s Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith in 10.98.
Katie Snowden ran four minutes 07.57 seconds to place sixth in the 1,500 metres, while Olympic and world champion Kipyegon won in 4:04.79 ahead of Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji.
Paulinho won the 400-meter title in 49.59 seconds, while Puerto Rican Jasmine Camacho-Quinn took victory in the 100-meter hurdles in 12.36 seconds.
Olympic 800m silver medalist Tsige Duguma beat Kenyan world champion Mary Moraa in the two-lap race in 1:57.43.
The Athlos meeting continues a broader investment in the sport and its athletes, with World Athletics paying Olympic champions. for the first time at this year’s Paris Games.
In June, American legend Michael Johnson announced the launch of lucrative new athletics league from April 2025 called Grand Slam court, with a total of 12.6 million dollars in prizes.
And last week, the Diamond League said it would increase its prize money for the 2025 season.
“This is bigger than me and it’s bigger than this race,” said Thomas, who added golds in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays to his 200m victory in Paris.
“It’s about what we’re doing for women’s sports and what this event, in particular, means for women’s sports and for athletics.”
Ohanian founded Athlos NYC following his investment in Los Angeles-based NWSL side Angel City FC last year, when the club became the The most expensive women’s sports equipment in the world.
“You just look at the number of followers, you look at the engagement. Female athletes, and in this example, track and field athletes, are much more compelling,” Ohanian said.
“I have a ‘spidey sense’ that there are very committed fan communities and women’s sport has them in droves.”
