Keely Hodgkinson to compete at Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos NYC meet in October

Olympic 800 metres champion Keely Hodgkinson has announced she will compete in the second edition of the all-female athletics event Athlos in New York this autumn.

Athlos, a project backed by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, premiered at Icahn Stadium last September and returns to the same venue on October 10, just under three weeks after the World Athletics Championships wrap up in Tokyo.

Hodgkinson has been recovering from a hamstring issue, and recently withdrew from Saturday’s London Diamond League meet – the second delayed start to her season – but her team said the 23-year-old still aims to arrive in Japan in “peak form”.

“Athlos NYC represents everything I love about our sport: unity, passion, and the pursuit of greatness,” Hodgkinson said. “I can’t wait to line up alongside some of the best in the world to cap off the season.”

Athlos’ inaugural edition paid out more than USD 600,000 – the largest-ever purse for a women’s track event – with winners taking home USD 60,000 (£44,603), and also featured a give-back initiative in which 10 per cent of ticketing, commercial sponsorship and broadcast revenues were re-distributed to participating athletes.

Last year’s event had a purposeful festival feel, featuring a performance from rapper and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion. Unlike the track-only inaugural competition, Athlos’ second iteration will also include a field event, long jump, headlined by American Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall.

British 400m record holder Amber Anning, who collected a pair of relay bronzes at the Paris 2024 Olympics and the individual world 400m indoors title in March, has also signed up.

In 2026, Athlos plans to shift from an individual-centred event to a team-based league format.

Ohanian, who is married to 23-time tennis grand slam singles champion Serena Williams, announced in May that he had bought a stake in Women’s Super League side Chelsea – reportedly 10 per cent and worth around £20million.

He has also joined the board of the club, telling the BBC he thinks Chelsea’s “queens of global soccer” could become a “billion-dollar franchise”.

He wrote on X: “I’ve bet big on women’s sports before – and I’m doing it again.”