Gabby Thomas and Others Force Tiffany & Co Take a Massive $150K Honor Step Toward Track & Field at Athlos NYC

Whether it’s the Olympics or the Diamond League, athletes who win earn a bouquet and a medal. However, Athlos NYC isn’t your run-of-the-mill track and field event. The brainchild of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and athletes like Gabby Thomas, the special event is handing out a special prize to the winners. Instead of fighting for gold, silver, and bronze, the track athletes at Athlos are racing to earn bespoke crowns.

Yet again, these aren’t just any crowns, but ones designed by the renowned Tiffany & Co. Ohanian announcing a partnership with the luxury brand surprised many. After all, a jewelry brand partnering with a track and field event is unheard of. However, it wasn’t until things went live at Icahn Stadium that we learned that each silver crown costs $25,000.

With six winners in six events, just the crowns amount to a whopping $150,000. To put things into perspective, each Athlos NYC crown is several times more expensive than the gold medals Gabby Thomas earned in Paris. Bloomberg estimated a Paris Olympic gold medal to be worth around $900 in August. They estimated each medal to contain 6% gold and 95.2% silver.

While these matched the IOC’s regulations, Ohanian’s event made its own rules. The 41-year-old spilled the beans on what made the crowns even more special just as we got a glimpse of it during the live event. “The sterling silver crown is approximately 4.25 inches high, 7.2 inches in diameter, and weighs 1.4 pounds,” the venture capitalist revealed on social media.

Tiffany & Co. went the extra mile at its hollowware workshop in Cumberland, Rhode Island, to meticulously craft each crown. Crafting such a unique piece wasn’t something the luxury brand had done. However, the official trophy provider for the US Open since 1987 used their expertise to craft a statement piece for the Gabby Thomas headliner.

“Artisans combined age-old silversmithing techniques such as casting, hammer forming, roller bending,” and more, wrote Ohanian. However, they also blended modern techniques “such as wire EDM cutting and etching,” revealed the investor. Tiffany & Co. took ten weeks and 25 hours of labor to create the crowns. Unfortunately, Thomas missed out on earning one.

Brittany Brown beats Gabby Thomas to the crown

Athlos NYC capped off its inaugural edition with the 200-meter sprint. The final of the six crowns was up for grabs as Olympic champion and event favorite Thomas lined up to close out the night with one final race. However, Brittany Brown beat the three-time Paris gold medalist to the finish line by the slightest margin.

Brown clocked in 22.18 seconds, while the 27-year-old Olympic champion fell just short at 22.21 seconds. However, what made it even more impressive was the fact that Brittany Brown had turned in a season-best effort of 11.05 seconds during the 100m event earlier tonight. So not only did she beat Gabby Thomas, but did so without fresh legs.

The incredible double performance also made Brittany Brown the most successful athlete at the inaugural Athlos NYC. While the event didn’t have a podium, the silver crown winner earned $60,000 from her 200-meter victory and $25,000 from her second-place finish across 100 meters. Brown will earn a portion from the 10% revenue generation bonus, pushing her total prize money for the night to triple digits.

However, none of this would be possible without Alexis Ohanian. Gabby Thomas put it best when she told CITIUS MAG: “I mean, he really doubled the prize money of the Diamond League, and that’s fantastic because he saw what we deserve.” It seems the $25,000 crowns and the highest prize pool in women’s track and field history are just the beginning.