The most watched moment in American women’s sports last fall did not belong to basketball, tennis, or gymnastics. It belonged to a newly launched women’s track event that streamed free to the world. As fans scrambled to witness Caitlin Clark’s professional debut, another corner of women’s athletics quietly amassed a larger audience. That event was Athlos, and Alexis Ohanian is making sure you don’t forget it.
Founded to carve out space for female athletes in track and field beyond the Olympic spotlight, Athlos returned this month with plans to exceed its already historic debut. But while the concept is rooted in advocacy, its founder has not shied away from asserting dominance. Ohanian, who has a hand in everything from venture capital to women’s soccer, delivered a pointed reminder of just how far Athlos has come in such a short span, and who’s coming along for the ride.
“We had a big first meet,” Ohanian said during an interview with TODAY. “Yeah, more than three million people tuned in for Athlos last year, and I think one of the big reasons why was it was certainly coming off the Olympics and, you know, track and field is one of those sports that we are all paying attention to. It’s a very global sport. By creating a broadcast structure, we can make this high-quality sort of Super Bowl of track and field available to everyone. The world tuned it and we’re expecting even bigger numbers this year.” The number, according to Ohanian, eclipsed the viewership drawn by Clark’s hyped WNBA opener. The implication was clear. If women’s sports are finally receiving attention, they are not all sharing the stage equally. And Athlos is already ahead of the curve.
There is also no subtlety in the way Ohanian frames his athlete roster. His excitement, if not pride, was unmistakable when he said, “And with names like Sha’Carri Richardson, Tara Davis-Woodhall, and of course Gabby Thomas, we’ve got the best of the best in women’s track and field, and I’m excited for the league next year.”
The inclusion of these three figures, each an Olympic-level star in her own right, signals that Athlos is not merely a feel-good initiative. It is a competitive product built for wide appeal and designed to capture the attention of audiences well beyond die-hard track enthusiasts.
Athlos will return to Icahn Stadium in New York City on October 10, its second staging in as many years. Last season’s prize purse, a record-setting $663,000, stood as the most lucrative in women’s track history. While this year’s total has not yet been disclosed, organizers have promised to scale up. For Ohanian, whose business instincts tend to favor early disruption and aggressive scaling, the formula seems familiar: invest heavily in production, make access simple, and let talent speak for itself.
Part of the appeal lies in its accessibility. Unlike many track and field events, which has paywalls or cable restrictions, Athlos was broadcast free of charge. Streamed worldwide to a viewership that exceeded expectations. The move signaled not just confidence in the product but a challenge to the status quo. That accessibility, paired with marquee names and sharp production values, helped turn a first-time meet into a global attraction. The result, in Ohanian’s view, is evidence that demand for women’s sports is not hypothetical. It’s already here.
As the league eyes its October return, it does so with a sense of momentum and purpose. The founder’s remarks underscore not only his satisfaction but a quiet insistence that Athlos is no experiment. With athletes like Thomas, Richardson, and Davis-Woodhall at the forefront, and the backing of a public figure willing to make bold comparisons, Athlos is positioning itself less as an alternative to mainstream sports and more as a standard-bearer. For Ohanian, the message is simple. They’ve already outdrawn the WNBA once. They intend to do it again.
Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, and Tara Davis-Woodhall take ownership stakes
When a track and field league emerges with athletes in the owner’s seat, the conversation shifts from performance alone to long-term power. Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, and Tara Davis-Woodhall are not merely participating in the next iteration of elite athletics—they are helping construct it. As part of Athlos’ newly announced team-based league, the three Olympic medalists have taken on roles as adviser-owners, formalizing their influence within the sport they’ve each come to define. Their involvement marks a deliberate move toward equity not only in competition but in structure, visibility, and revenue.
Credits: Imago
Davis-Woodhall described the trio as functioning akin to captains—active voices guiding decisions, not simply endorsing them. “That means our voice is being heard, our opinions matter, and how we think matters,” she said in a conversation with ESPN. Her emphasis on influence underscores the strategic purpose of their inclusion: Athlos is not just recruiting talent; it is aligning with figures whose credibility among athletes is unambiguous.
The league’s founder, Alexis Ohanian, stated plainly: “We were focused on bringing them into the league as founding owners to ensure we’re building a League that our athletes will love.” That ownership extends beyond ceremonial status. These are athletes whose stature permits them to question norms, propose alternatives, and help design a competitive model from the athlete’s vantage point.
Richardson, who has not yet confirmed whether she will compete in future Athlos events, summarized her involvement with characteristic clarity. She added, “Joining ATHLOS as an advisor-owner gives me the opportunity to create something that genuinely empowers people both on and off the track.” The stakes here are not medals alone but a say in what track and field becomes.
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