Sha’Carri RichardsonPhotographer: Patrick Smith
Athlos, an all-female track event founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is expanding into a team-based league for 2026 and adding field events.
The league will feature Olympic medalists and Team USA standouts Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, and Tara Davis-Woodhall as adviser-owners and shareholders.
Athlos held its inaugural race in 2024, drawing 3 million viewers, and will host another race in October before launching the league next year.
Athlos, the all-female track event founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is expanding into a team-based league for 2026 and adding field events.
The league will be headlined by Olympic medalists and Team USA standouts Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas and Tara Davis-Woodhall, who will all serve as adviser-owners and shareholders in the league.
“For so long, athletes, especially in track, have carried the show but never owned the stage. To have a seat at the table where the decisions get made? That’s powerful.” Richardson said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.
Ohanian launched Athlos — the Greek word for contest — last year in an ambitious attempt to shake up women’s track, combining music, racing and bigger prize money.
Athlos held its inaugural race in September of 2024 at Icahn Stadium in New York City. It showcased six sprint style races, with a DJ playing in between every race and each runner being introduced with a walkout song. They gave away one of the largest prize purse in the sport’s history along, with $60,000 for the winners plus a Tiffany’s crown. The night ended with a concert by rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
“Athlos isn’t just trying to fit track into an old model. It’s building something new that honors the athletes, the culture, and the competition in a way that grabs people’s attention and makes the sport accessible. That’s what’s going to push the sport into the mainstream.” Richardson said of how Athlos is set to elevate the sport.
The first season drew about 3 million viewers, the company said. Now they will host another race at Icahn Stadium in October of this year before launching the league next year.
Gabby Thomas following the 200m during Athlos at Icahn Stadium in New York on Sept. 26.Photographer: Patrick Smith
No specific financials were released about the league, but Athlos confirmed there will be individual prizes per meet, and a team prize for the championship.
Giving the founding athletes equity wasn’t something planned when they initially signed on to be part of the league.
“That wasn’t even a part of the conversation” Ohanian said in an interview. “So you can imagine it was a nice surprise to say, hey, look, we’re doing a league now, and we’d love to have you involved and have a stake in it.”
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Athletes have increasingly taking stakes in the growing number of new startups outside of tradtional leagues and competitions. San Antonio Spurs point guard Chris Paul recently bought into Tiger Woods’ Tomorrow’s Golf League franchise Jupiter Links GC, joining sports stars including Mike Trout and Harry Kane as backers of the team. Footballers including Diogo Jota, Diogo Dalot, and Mason Mount invested in Baller League, a six-a-side football competition backed by a range of influencers and former footballers.
Ohanian, who funded Athlos through his 776 venture capital firm, is looking to making track a lot more fun for fans and boosted viewership, thereby increasing pay for the athletes beyond the four-year Olympic cycle.
A push has been made to capture the popularity of track and field outside of mainstream athletic events. Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track launched in April with a $12.6 million prize pot, with $100,000 for the winner of each event. Next year will see the launch of the World Athletics Ultimate Championships, with a $10 million pot and $150,000 for first place.
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