Hear ye, hear ye, track and field aficionados! We have a question for you. Do you remember what your experience was like watching the sport? Were you thrilled? Excited? Over the moon? Similarly, who could forget when Tara Davis-Woodhall claimed the long jump title during a nail-biting U.S. Olympic Trials? Well, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian witnessed that magical moment at the historic Hayward Field for the very first time.

You’d assume he had a thrilling experience, wouldn’t you? But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Speaking to Justin Gatlin on the Ready Set Go podcast, Ohanian opened up about what it was like. “So, I hadn’t been to one. I did finally go to once my first one in Eugene. So I saw the qualifiers, and so that was incredible, right?” However, he was perplexed about the setup. “And as a casual first-timer, I’m torn between two storylines that I know I should be paying attention to.” 

Alexis Ohanian reiterated how he understands they have several athletes to send to the Olympics. “Their ‘why’ is different from ours, right? We get to curate and say much more specifically, ‘Okay, let’s just reimagine this whole thing, starting first and foremost with how do we create the best platform possible for these individual athletes because they are themselves the stars, right?'” But this wasn’t the first time he spoke up about the experience.

Ohanian’s first experience was exhilarating. “And then I’m watching Tara, who is so dynamic. Tara Woodhall Davis, and she’s such a star, and she has her section of the stadium all gassed up for one of her jumps, but at the same time, there’s like a race going on.” However, a pesky ad ruined the experience for him. “I’m trying to pay attention to her. Why is there an ad thing on here?” he told CITIUS MAG.

Tara Davis-Woodhall had slipped into fifth place, and feeling every bit of their nerves, the Reddit co-founder was crushed. “Cause she messed up nearly the first couple.” But the long jumper reigned it in, and he couldn’t help but sing her praises. “She’s such a show woman, show person. And she’s so dynamic. The crowd is energized; they’re so excited.” So, how did he find his way around it? 

Watching Tara Davis-Woodhall, Alexis Ohanian found a solution

The Reddit co-founder’s brainchild, Athlos NYC, finally commenced on September 26. It was the first women-only track meet, and boy, was it a massive success. After witnessing several megastars at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Ohanian had his Eureka moment. “I feel like we’re on to something… but obviously still a lot more to do, and I can’t help but look at some of these stars like Tara and think, God, we got to find ways, uh, for… I don’t want to.” 

However, Ohanian clarified the event at Icahn Stadium was just phase 1. “I’m already still thinking like how phase two goes, um, because, you know, I don’t ever want to half-a– anything,” he stated. The 41-year-old added that he will host another in 2025. Will we see field events added to Athlos NYC soon? We won’t know until next year. But he does give his honest take after his first-hand experience at the U.S. Olympic Trials. 

“So, I feel very confident that if you can bring the right people into the mix, and most importantly, talk to the athletes, and they’ve been our North Star the whole time. And the team has heard me say it time and time again. If the athletes come away from this event saying this was the best track meet I’ve ever been to, we win,” he confessed.

Several Olympians like Faith Kipyegon, Alexis Holmes, Brittany Brown, Masai Russell, and the headliner Gabby Thomas contested at their meet. They had their own walk-out songs curated by DJ Derrick ‘D-Nice’ Jones, which was another first many fanatics witnessed. If that wasn’t enough, the Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion treated the attendees to a concert by the end of the night. Ohanian might have found a way to showcase each of these athletes efficiently, but we’re hoping to see Tara Davis-Woodhall make an appearance sometime soon.