The all-female track meet Athlos will make its London debut live on the BBC on Friday – and its founder hopes the competition can become the “Formula 1 of track and field”.
Created by Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and husband of tennis’ 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams, Athlos was held in New York for its first two editions in 2024 and 2025.
It was due to expand to a two-day event in 2026, however this year’s New York meet scheduled for 2 October was cancelled.
Ohanian said that decision was taken after listening to athlete concerns at the end of a long season, adding that from 2027 Athlos “will move to be aligned with the global athletics calendar”.
Many of the world’s top athletes competed for a new global title and record prize money at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship last week.
In addition to chasing a top prize of $65,000 (£48,500) in each event, and an Athlos crown designed by Tiffany & Co, athletes will be offered equity in the league – the idea being that they will be rewarded if it is successful.
Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell, American sprinters Gabby Thomas and Sha’Carri Richardson, and Dominican 400m runner Marileidy Paulino are among the star names competing.
The event will take place at the StoneX Stadium in Barnet, home of rugby union side Saracens, on Friday, 18 September, with coverage on iPlayer, the Red Button and the BBC Sport website and app from 19:00 BST.
“I’ve long been very obsessed with this ‘F1 for track and field’ analogy. 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,” Ohanian told BBC Sport.
“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.
“Whatever we do, we’re going to do it with our athletes as partners – but our ambition is big. I don’t see any reason why Athlos can’t be a mainstay of the sporting calendar.”
