Athlos NYC shows early signs of success in inaugural meet

The GIST: Last Thursday, women’s track meet Athlos NYC took off at Icahn Stadium in Manhattan, and seemed to be everything founder Alexis Ohanian billed it to be. As we wait for official viewership and attendance numbers, immediate IRL impressions suggest Athlos could be the next major event on the Big Apple’s sports calendar between the US Open and the NYC Marathon. That tracks.

The background: Ohanian announced the event back in April alongside Olympian Gabby Thomas, who was the first athlete to sign on out of an eventual 36 total participants. Ohanian’s goal for the meet was not only to reward women athletes, but to activate in a space that’s faced a dearth of competitive leagues and sponsorship opportunities.

• And they were rewarded: With a record prize pool of $663K, athletes who placed first in one of the six track events were guaranteed $60K. Specifically, 200m Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown earned $85K for 33.13 seconds of racing at Athlos NYC — more than the $54K she made off racing five Diamond League meets this year.

The marketing: Beyond touting the record prize money, Ohanian utilized some big names to build hype for the meet. He secured rapper Megan Thee Stallion as a headliner and tapped his wife, tennis GOAT Serena Williams, to narrate an intro video for the event. Plus, DJ D-Nice played music for the crowd, which included celebs like Flavor Flav and Lupita Nyong’o.

• And Ohanian, who also co-founded the NWSL’s Angel City FC, knows how to bring in top brands. One of the event’s first sponsors was luxury brand Tiffany & Co., which gifted winners custom crowns, while women-focused clothing brand Oiselle was the official apparel sponsor and Vogue provided in-depth coverage. Strike a pose.

The viewership: While final numbers haven’t been published for the meet’s livestream on ESPN+, DAZN, and World Athletics’ platform, social media metrics give some insight into the online interest. As of last night, the broadcast on X had 2.5M views, while the YouTube stream boasted over 84K viewers.

Zooming out: Track & field has long had a sponsorship problem, but Athlos’ success could shift the way marketers see track. Billing meets as a cultural event could entice new sponsors the way finance brands have increasingly activated around the US Open, but the sponsors so far reflect a compelling intersection between sport, tech, and culture — and that’s where Gen Z fans live.