Gabby Thomas Falls Short to Brittany Brown at Athlos NYC

Gabby Thomas, the American Olympic 200m champion narrowly lost to Brittany Brown at the inaugural Athlos NYC event which featured many of the world’s top female track athletes competing for record-breaking prizes. Gabby Thomas clocked a time of 22.21 seconds, finishing just behind Olympic bronze medalist Brown, who crossed the finish line in 22.18 seconds.

Furthermore, the event launched by Alexis Ohanian co-founder of Reddit and husband of tennis star Serena Williams boasted a record prize pool of $500,000 (£374,000) for a women’s track meet. Brown expressed excitement about the growth of women’s athletics, noting the significant prize money available. In contrast, the Diamond League offers a first-place prize of only $15,000 (£11,200) across its 15 events.

This amount increases to $30,000 (£22,400) for the final. Moreover, thirty-six athletes competed across various events including the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1500m with winners receiving crowns from Tiffany & Co. Great Britain’s Daryll Neita finished fourth in the 100m won by Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith in 10.98 seconds. In the 1500m, Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon claimed victory with a time of 4:04.79.

Meanwhile, Marileidy Paulino triumphed in the 400m, finishing in 49.59 seconds. Additionally, the Athlos meeting is part of a broader movement to increase investment in women’s sports with World Athletics paying Olympic champions for the first time at the Paris Games. Furthermore, plans for a new athletics league called Grand Slam Track set to launch in 2025 were announced featuring a total prize pool of $12.6 million.

Thomas emphasized the importance of events like Athlos NYC in elevating women’s sports and track and field as a whole.