Serena Williams’ Husband Teams Up with Megan Thee Stallion for Epic ‘Coachella’ Track Meet to Supercharge Women’s Sports
Alexis Ohanian designed ATHLOS with “the most cynical, hardcore track fan” in mind. The Reddit co-founder and husband to tennis icon Serena Williams successfully pulled off an incredible track meet celebrating the world’s fastest women. And Ohanian made sure to credit the women involved with executing and competing in the event.
Alexis Ohanian brought together the world’s fastest women at ATHLOS 2024
Ohanian’s goal is to elevate this global sport to new heights with a specific focus on females. “We should make [women’s track] as easy as possible to see,” he told LetsRunDotCom. “Lots of people want to watch it … The bare minimum is that this is one of the most exciting sporting events in New York sports.” As the father of two young daughters explained, this NYC-based competition brought together track’s most elite female athletes for the Coachella-inspired event.
Megan Thee Stallion lent her voice to a live performance. Athletes got walk-out songs, and DJ Derrick “D-Nice” Jones hyped up the crowd between races. “I wanted to capture the U.S. Open night match energy,” Ohanian told interviewers. “If we can get a little bit of the New York Knicks or Liberty playoffs energy — and maybe throw in a little bit of music festival energy … It’s a high bar but these ladies are the best in the world.”
Dozens of elite professional athletes convened at ATHLOS, including American track and field sprinter Shamier Little, American hurdlers Alaysha Johnson and Tonea Marshall, and Kenyan runner Faith Kipyegon. Others included Bahamian hurdler/jumper Charisma Taylor, Dutch sprinter Lieke Klaver, Ethiopian runner Gudaf Tsegay, and American track and field athlete Alexis Holmes. And no professional track event is complete these days without Gabby Thomas.
The 2024 200-meter Olympic champion posted a series of photos on Instagram about her ATHLOS experience. She captioned it, “Grateful for the opportunity to race at @athlos last night. While every meet is a chance to push my own limits, this one really pushed the sport forward. Increased accessibility to watch, largest prize pot in women’s track, and our voices were truly heard. Proud of the work, the journey, and the amazing community that showed up to make this event possible. This is the best time I have EVER had competing. Let’s keep breaking barriers.”
Ohanian replied, “You are magnificent. You played such a big role in galvanizing me to invest in track and I’ll always be grateful for that. Have a well-deserved offseason and get ready for PHASE II of @athlos.”
Serena Williams’ husband is passionate about elevating women’s sports
In addition to the great vibes, ATHLOS redistributed 10% of all revenue to participating athletes, offering the biggest prize in the history of women’s track-only events. The organization also designed the athletes’ bibs specifically for a woman’s body, opting for adhesive over safety pins to keep the bibs attached.
Ohanian explained his team’s thought process behind the event: “Our No. 1 priority was making something that the athletes would say was the best meet of their lives. And that meant asking them questions, taking their feedback … So my hunch is — again based on what they’ve said — previous efforts either overpromised or underdelivered, which we don’t want to do, but also didn’t take the time to actually address what they wanted.”
Ohanian is surrounded by female athletes in his family
Ohanian knows a little something about creating successful companies and events. In addition to Reddit, the 41-year-old has co-founded venture capital firm Initialized Capital and started the social enterprise Breadpig. He served as the lead investor of Angel City FC, LA’s National Women’s Soccer League franchise, alongside his wife of nearly seven years, Serena Williams. The couple share Alexis Olympia, 7, and Adira River, 1.
As the father of two very young women, Ohanian might be further motivated to foster a bright future for female athletes. When LetsRunDotCom asked him if we’ll see another ATHLOS event, he responded, “We’re absolutely doing this again next year.”
