“When people come to see me, they get excited because they know a special moment is going to happen,” Noah Lyles told Olympics.com last year. Masai Russell is probably channeling the same energy ahead of the Zurich Diamond League. Track Spice on X showed the 100 m hurdles Olympic champion busting out some dance moves during practice. However, Athlos founder Alexis Ohanian voiced his objection.

“There will be no dancing allowed at @athlos !! @masai_russell” Ohanian wrote on the Track Spice post, tagging the Olympic champion. However, it seems the hurdler is just as passionate about dancing as she is about her sport, and messing with her hobby is not an option. Russell, who shook a leg to GloRilla’s TGIF in the clip, responded to Ohanian.

“I don’t think I’ll make it,” Masai Russell responded on the thread. Russell’s response made Serena Williams’s husband immediately drop his ‘no dancing’ rule from Athlos NYC 2024, despite the exchange being nothing more than a joke. “OK OK! You’re right. Walk-out songs WITH smoke and lights… And dancing,” Alexis Ohanian replied to the Paris 2024 gold medalist.

Contrary to what he wrote on X, the 41-year-old entrepreneur and husband of Serena Williams has made music an integral part of his inaugural track and field venture. Alexis Ohanian, the venture capitalist, also seemed to take cues from Noah Lyles’s walk-out song idea. Each athlete will have their signature entry song for the first time in competitive track and field history.

These songs will be “curated by D-Nice before the event and between each race,” says the official Athlos NYC 2024 website. However, it’s unlikely any of them will use WWE star Undertaker’s theme as their walk-out song, as Lyles confessed during a World Athletics interview. Alexis Ohanian also announced the presence of Billboard 100 chart-topping singer Megan Thee Stallion.

“The fastest women in the world deserve nothing less than the best,” the Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian wrote on Instagram. The R&B and Hip-Hop star will perform at the Icahn Stadium on the day of the competition on September 26. Masai Russell will be one of the many women’s track and field icons who grace Ohanian’s bid on women’s sports.

Alexis Ohanian is going all in on women’s sports

From WNBA to the Paris Olympics, women’s sports continue to gather momentum. From Simone Biles and Gabby Thomas showing up to support Caitlin Clark to Alexis Ohanian’s investing in track and field, women’s sport seems destined to outgrow its critics. However, icons such as Thomas, Russell, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Sha’Carri Richardson, and others inspired Ohanian.

While the 41-year-old has cheered his tennis phenom wife Serena Williams from the stands countless times, the U.S. Olympic Trails was his first taste of track and field. The entrepreneur felt inspired watching the world’s fastest women give it their all to qualify for Paris 2024. After already finding success with Angle City FC in women’s soccer, the venture capitalist founded Athlos for women in track and field, an exclusive platform.

After the Zurich Diamond League, Masai Russell will be back in the States to compete in the Ohanian’s Althos NYC 2024. Besides getting her wish to dance, Russell will stand to win “the largest purse ever” for a women’s event. Athlos has announced $2500 for the athlete who places sixth, going all the way up to $60,000 for the winner. Will you be tuning in for Athlos NYC 2024? Who are you rooting for? Let us know in the comments!