Tara Davis-Woodhall And Faith Kipyegon To Headline ATHLOS NYC 2025

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 26: Faith Kipyegon of Kenya celebrates after winning the 1500m during Athlos NYC at Icahn Stadium on September 26, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Athlos/Getty Images for Athlos)

Getty Images for Athlos

ATHLOS, an all-women’s track and field league, will host its second iteration of the event on October 9th and 10th. On the 9th, ATHLOS will shut down Times Square at 6:30 p.m. EST to showcase the prelims of the women’s long jump. The next day, the meet will move to Icahn Stadium at 7:00 p.m. EST, where fans can watch all running events and the long jump finals.

Following a similar prize money format to 2024, ATHLOS will award the winners of each event $60,000. This year, the league will take it a step further by partnering with CashApp to issue $250,000 to any athlete who breaks the world record in their event. The partnership is making history by offering immediate prize money to all competing athletes after results are confirmed.

ATHLOS is at the forefront of change with women’s track and field and women’s sports. Slowly being coined as the “Super Bowl” of track and field, the league is finding ways to blend culture and sports to boost track and field’s popularity.

Spectators can expect a post-show performance by Grammy award-winning artist Ciara. Many other celebrities plan to make their way to NYC to witness everything the meet has to offer.

Tara Davis-Woodhall Looking To Make ATHLOS History In The Long Jump

When Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian announced the creation of ATHLOS last year, he did not include field events in the line-up for the meet. Although he didn’t offer field events on the event’s first go-round, he made it clear he was open to exploring the possibilities in the future.

Ohanian made good on his promise by announcing the addition of the long jump to his track and field venture. Olympic and world champion Tara Davis-Woodhall was the first athlete announced for the addition of field events to ATHLOS. Davis-Woodhall is the most dominant jumper currently. She is undefeated this season and holds the world lead, making her the main target of competition.

Joining Davis-Woodhall in Times Square are five other women with their own historical feats. Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Jasmine Moore will up the competition levels this weekend. Moore is arguably the most versatile horizontal jumper in history, as she is the only American and the second woman ever to earn medals in both the long and triple jumps at the same Olympics.

This year, Moore unfortunately only qualified for the world championships in the triple jump. She will be looking to redeem herself in her secondary event tomorrow evening.

Alongside these two women will be Olympian and world indoor silver medalist, Monae Nichols. Nichols solidified her dominance on the current long jump scene this past year. She qualified for her first-ever world championships team last March and flew home with a silver medal. Later that season, she earned a spot on Team USA for the Olympics, where she placed 6th overall.

Nichols, like Moore, also did not qualify for the world championships in the long jump this year, but she is ready to fight for a Tiffany Crown.

Tokyo Olympian Quanesha Burks will be competing in New York, fresh off making her fourth world championship team. Burks opened up about the struggle of becoming a full-time caregiver for her grandmother, as well as the change in coaches this season. The significant life changes affected her in ways that unfortunately showed up in her competition. However, Burks, known for being a strong fighter and competitor, did not let that stop her from qualifying for the world championships this year.

After placing 8th in the finals several weeks ago, Burks is even more pumped to do something special this weekend.

2025 world indoor champion Claire Bryant is ready for the stiff competition at ATHLOS this year. Bryant is an excellent addition to this line-up for several reasons that go beyond her earned medals. The University of Florida legend is an excellent overall competitor and is great at responding to her opponents through her jumps.

At the U.S championships this year, Bryant would go jump-for-jump with Davis-Woodhall, pushing the Olympic champion to bring out her absolute best if she wished to retain her U.S. title. Bryant was just one spot shy of the podium in Tokyo three weeks ago. Spectators should keep an eye on her performance over the next few days.

Rounding out the field is two-time Olympian Jazmin Sawyers. Sawyers took 20 months off to recover from a ruptured Achilles injury. After her first season back in almost two years, the 7-meter jumper is currently ranked 18th in the world.

Olympic And World Championship Rematch Between Marileidy Paulino and Salwa Eid Naser

ATHLOS is providing the rematch of a lifetime this Friday at Icahn Stadium. One of the most anticipated events for the world championships this year was the women’s 400-meter dash. The exhilarating match-up between 6-time 400-meter hurdle world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the third fastest woman of all-time and Olympic champion Marilediy Paulino, and fourth fastest woman of all-time and Olympic silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser left fans in a frenzy as they tried to predict who would walk away with gold in Tokyo.

McLaughlin-Levrone took the world championship title and became the second fastest woman in the event.

Although McLaughlin-Levrone will not be attending ATHLOS, Paulino and Eid Naser are primed for another showdown at Icahn Stadium. Paulino and Eid Naser have raced eight times this season, with Paulino taking the victory over Eid Naser five times.

After her race in Tokyo, Paulino expressed her disappointment at losing her world championship title, especially to someone who doesn’t race this event frequently. Despite the heartache behind her loss, she was proud of having lowered her personal best and moved up on the all-time list. Paulino’s competitive nature is strong and something difficult to beat unless you’re willing to do something historical to earn the victory. The Olympic champion will be looking to defend her Tiffany Crown and end her season with a win.

Eid Naser, similar to Paulino, has an unwavering competitive spirit. Eid Naser spoke about how cool it was to watch the elevation of the women’s 400-meter dash and be a part of that evolution. Spectators can rest assured that Eid Naser will bring out her best to secure one more win against Paulino.

World indoor champion Amber Anning will be a part of this electric field. Anning placed fifth at the Olympics last year and fifth in Tokyo last month. She holds three of the fastest times ever run by a British woman and is seeking to continue her dominance in the event.

World and Olympic champion Alexis Holmes, training partner with Anning, is lining up this Friday. During the U.S. championships, Holmes spoke with me about dealing with injury this season and doing her best to stay competitive. Despite her setback, Holmes was able to bring home two world championship medals this season, adding to her rapidly growing medal count.

Lynna Irby-Jackson is racing in ATHLOS for the second time. She was crucial to Team USA’s 4×400-meter relay win in Tokyo, completely blowing the competition away as she grabbed the baton for the second leg. Irby-Jackson ran the second-fastest split of the meet, with only McLaughlin-Levrone being faster.

Norwegian national record holder Henriette Jaeger will complete the women’s 400-meter dash field. Jaeger, the youngest of those competing, has been finding her way into major championship finals for the past two years. In Paris, she placed 8th in the Olympic final. This year, she was 7th at the world championships.

Faith Kipyegon Has Eyes On Another ATHLOS Victory

World record holder Faith Kipyegon will lead the charge in the women’s mile this Friday. The Kenyan star has had a stellar season, marked by numerous medals, records, and smiles. Kipyegon broke the world record in the 1500 meters earlier this season at the Prefontaine Classic. Before that, she went to Paris and attempted to become the first woman ever to break four minutes in the mile. Although she wasn’t able to do it, she did run a world best, rewriting history yet again.

Kipyegon went to Tokyo and earned her fourth world championship gold medal in the 1500 meters. Later that week, she shared the podium with her countrywoman and 5k world record holder, Beatrice Chebet, in the 5k.

The world record holder has been relatively unbeatable this season, making her chances of winning at Icahn high. Kipyegon won the 1500-meter race at ATHLOS last year, so she will be looking to add another Tiffany Crown to her list of accolades.

Kipyegon will have formidable challengers awaiting her at the start line. Gudaf Tsegay is the indoor world record holder for the 1500 meters. Tsegay holds three world champion titles and one Olympic bronze medal. She is no stranger to Kipyegon’s abilities and has proven she’s ready to fight to the finish, no matter how fast the race goes. This will be Tsegay’s second time running at ATHLOS.

In the mix will be American record holder Nikki Hiltz. Hiltz is leading the U.S. talent in the shorter distance events. At the Olympics last year, Hiltz placed 6th in the final, which was higher than any other American in that race. At the world championships several weeks ago, Hiltz improved on their finish and got 5th. Hiltz is an athlete known for their vicious kick at the end of the race. If this race shakes out to be more tactical, Hiltz’s kick could push them to a surprising finish.

Hiltz will be in this race with their training partner and Olympian, Susan Ejore-Sanders. Ejore Sanders is currently ranked 13th in the world for the 1500 meters. She also holds the Kenyan national record for the indoor mile. Based on their recent training videos, Hiltz and Ejore-Sanders seem ready for any challenge Friday may bring.

Freweyni Hailu is the final athlete who will run the mile on Friday. Hailu has two world indoor championship titles, one in the 3k from this year and one in the 1500 meters from last year. The Olympian is ranked 12th in the world in the 1500 meters and got 6th this year in Tokyo.

British Training Partners Georgia Hunter-Bell And Keely Hodgkinson Ready For World Championship Rematch

Continuing in the spirit of delivering good rematches and exciting performances, ATHLOS will have two out of three of the world championship 800-meter podium face off at Icahn. Training partners Georgia Hunter-Bell and Keely Hodgkinson earned silver and bronze, respectively, at worlds. Their times were only one hundredth of a second apart.

The competition between these two will be interesting for several reasons. Hodgkinson is the reigning Olympic champion, and the 800 meters is her main event. However, Hunter-Bell is good at both the 1500-meters and 800-meters. In Paris, Hunter-Bell contested the 1500 meters and took bronze. Instead of running the 1500 meters this year in Tokyo, the Olympic bronze medalist decided to go down in distance. Hunter-Bell’s faith in her abilities is well warranted, considering the silver medal she earned.

Both women are tactical racers and aren’t afraid to push each other’s limits, as competing together is a regular occurrence for them. Neither athlete has run at ATHLOS before, so they both will have a strong desire to earn their first-ever Tiffany Crown. Although predicting who will win won’t be easy, fans can surely expect an eye-catching performance from these two.

St. Vincent national record holder Shafiqua Maloney is another athlete who will be experiencing this revolutionary meet for the first time. Maloney made the Olympic final in the 800 meters last year. Although she did not make the world championship final this year, Maloney will be ready for whatever race Hunter-Bell and Hodgkinson make this out to be. Similar to Hiltz, Maloney has a vicious kick that can work out in her favor depending on how the race goes.

Natoya Goule-Toppin and Halimah Nakaayi are two athletes in this field who ran at ATHLOS last September. Goule-Toppin is the Jamaican national record holder in this event. She’s ranked 23rd in the world this year. Nakaayi is the 2019 world champion and is currently ranked 10th in the world.

A full competition schedule can be found here on the ATHLOS website. Those looking to watch the action from home can tune into ESPN, ION, YouTube, and X.