Athlos, the all-female athletics event founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, will make its London debut in 2026 as the competition expands into a two-city event.
The meet will take place at StoneX Stadium in Barnet on September 18 before heading to New York two weeks later. Ohanian said his long-term vision is to turn Athlos into the “Formula 1 of track and field” by creating a global athletics league.
Big ambitions for Athlos
Ohanian believes athletics can follow a model similar to Formula 1, where elite athletes compete regularly in major cities around the world.
“We come to expect the fastest cars in the world to tour the greatest global cities,” 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.”
Athlos will continue offering a prize pool of $2.1 million (£1.5m), while athletes will also receive equity in the league, allowing them to benefit financially if the project succeeds in the future.
Top athletes already confirmed
Several leading stars have already confirmed participation for the 2026 events, including Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Masai Russell and Marileidy Paulino.
Seven disciplines will be contested across both meets — 100m hurdles, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, mile and long jump.
Athletes can earn up to $65,000 (£48,500) per event, with overall champions receiving an additional $25,000 (£18,600).
Athletes welcome equity model
Olympic champion Thomas said Athlos is helping reshape women’s athletics by giving competitors a direct stake in the competition’s success.
“We get a share in what we’re helping to build and that’s really rare in this sport,” she said.
Thomas added that Athlos provides young female athletes with a stronger future in professional track and field.
“The narrative growing up was that you can’t run professional track and field, there’s nothing in it. I like that we’re rewriting that,” she said.
Long-term global plans
After launching in New York in 2024 and adding London in 2026, Athlos hopes to eventually build a worldwide season-long athletics league.
Ohanian said discussions are ongoing with World Athletics regarding the future expansion of the event.
“We know we’re entering into something really ambitious,” he said.
“Ultimately we want to build a league around athletics, which historically has not had commercial success. This is a big moment for us.”
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