Gabby Thomas, who won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics, was upset by Brittany Brown in the 200 meters at the first Athlos NYC event at Icahn Stadium in New York City. Brown, who won bronze in Paris, finished with a time of 22.18, just ahead of Thomas, who completed the race just .03 seconds later at 22.21.
Athlos NYC drew many stars to Icahn Stadium at Randall’s Island, including producer and writer Shonda Rhimes; actress Lupita Nyong’o; hip-hop artist and reality television personality Flavor Flav; actress and producer Marsai Martin, The Kid Mero, co-host of the “7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony & The Kid Mero” podcast; and four-time Olympic gold winner Sanya Richards-Ross.
The event, formerly known as the 776 Invitational and renamed Athlos NYC, was created by Alexis Ohanian, best known as the co-founder of Reddit and the husband of tennis icon Serena Williams. He was there with their daughter, Olympia Ohanian.
Each competition featured six women competing. Puerto Rican sprinter Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won the first race of the evening, which was the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.36. Marie Josée Ta Lou from the Ivory Coast won the 100 meters and finished just under 11 seconds at 10.98.
The Dominican Republic’s Mariledy Paulino won the third race, the 400 meters, and completed it in just under 50 seconds at 49.59. Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma won the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.43. Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon won the longest race of the evening and completed the 1,500 meters in 4:04.79.
Hip-hop legend and world-renowned DJ D-Nice created the vibe before, between and after the six events, playing an eclectic mix of music for the diverse crowd of around 5,000, and Megan Thee Stallion closed out the event with a 30-minute performance.
