Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos NYC has brought fresh air into the realm of track and field sports. The first-ever women-only track event has awarded the frontrunners of the highest prize ever in athletics. The $60,000 figure made the pinnacle contest Diamond League appear bleak. Furthermore, the special crown made by Tiffany & Co. for the winners and the continuous pomp centering the events has taken the athletic world by storm. After a week of Athlos NYC, connoisseurs are still assessing the influence of Ohanian’s creation. In the meantime, an Olympian has drawn a contrasting image.

Serving the sports for decades, the veteran has a clear idea regarding the shape of the sports at different times. As a result, his opinions have added significant weight to the conversation. On September 26, Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green stepped into the Icahn Stadium to witness the magic, named Athlos NYC, in front of their eyes. That firsthand experience of it has made the former Olympic champion its fan.

He showered his praises over the contest for not suffering from one obvious disease of track and field sports: hosting several track and field sports in the same field and at the same time. Gatlin titled this issue as “It’s almost like working chaos.” Additionally, in his podcast, Ready Set Go, the veteran termed the qualifying events as the ‘circus’ because those included so many sports. However, Athlos NYC was not hampered by such concerns.

On September 26, the contest held six events with a 20-minute intermission between each other. There had been no qualifying events or any other track and field events to disrupt the scene. Rather, Alexis Ohanian-led Seven Seven Six venture capital had flown the athletes early to enter the dinner the night before the event. He also set up a red carpet for the athletes to dazzle and showcase themselves in their unique way.

Creativity like this shouldn’t go without being praised. Justin Gatlin saved his words as well, noting, “I think that’s where our sport is moving to which you’re doing is you’re kind of putting a microscope on these six ladies.” Several of the ‘ladies’ also think in the same way. 

The track and field athletes display their amazement at the contest 

After snagging two medals from the Athlos NYC, Brittany Brown narrated why the contest had been her best experience so far. As per her tweet from after the event, the Olympic medalist revealed that it took her 33 seconds to earn $85,000. However, she couldn’t land such enormous numbers even if she had run all the rounds in the 100m and 200m events in the Diamond League final. Alaysha Johnson, another medal winner from the night, displayed her emotions as well. 

Even in the Paris Olympics, Johnson ran without any support from the sponsors. She had to ask for help to cover the expenses. But in the hassle-free Athlos NYC, she received $12,500 after her third-place finish in the 100m hurdles event. Notably, it is the highest prize money the Olympian has ever received. She put her emotions into words like, “I wasn’t expecting this, for sure.”

On the other hand, Gabby Thomas, the three-time Olympic champion and the promoter of the Athlos NYC, has steadfastly penned, “Every track meet needs to be like @athlos . end of discussion.” That explains why Justin Gatlin praised the contest. Now, fans would want this culture to be continued.