Most of the world’s prime ladies’s observe athletes are set to compete for report prizes when the inaugural Athlos NYC will get beneath approach on Thursday.
American Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas and Kenyan 1,500m world report holder Religion Kipyegon are among the many stars in motion on the ladies’s-only observe invitational.
Alexis Ohanian – Reddit co-founder and husband of 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion Serena Williams – has launched the occasion which boasts a record $500,000 (£374,000) prize pool, external for a ladies’s observe meet.
Winners throughout six disciplines will obtain $60,000 (£44,900).
The Diamond League, as compared, provides a $15,000 (£11,200) first prize throughout its 15 sequence conferences, rising to $30,000 (£22,400) for the ultimate.
“I requested these ladies, I used to be like, ‘Hey, so what’s your prime prize on the finish of a season for successful?’ And so they mentioned $30,000,” Ohanian instructed Reuters.
“And I mentioned, ‘Nice, I’ll double it for one single race’.”
There are two Brits in motion with Daryll Neita racing within the 100m and Katie Snowden competing within the 1500m.
The Athlos assembly continues wider funding within the sport and its athletes, with World Athletics paying Olympic champions for the first time at the Paris Games this year.
In June, American legend Michael Johnson introduced the launch of a lucrative new athletics league starting in April 2025 referred to as Grand Slam observe, with a complete of $12.6m (£9.9m) in prize cash.
And final week, the Diamond League mentioned it will elevate its prize cash for the 2025 season.
“It is an excellent signal when there are different folks seeing what you are doing and racing to be part of it too,” mentioned Ohanian.