For ATHLOS, the London debut was supposed to be another step toward making women’s track and field feel bigger, louder, and impossible to ignore. But as the stars lined up at StoneX Stadium, one thing caught the attention of viewers watching from home – the stands.

With Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Keely Hodgkinson and Marileidy Paulino among the headline names, the meet had plenty of star power. Yet one fan watching the broadcast questioned why only a small section appeared to be occupied. The comment quickly reached ATHLOS founder Alexis Ohanian, who had a simple explanation

“Because we only opened up the side on the home stretch, sold out a week ago. Exact same setup we had for Icahn in NY last 2 years. Many more watched on BBC, ION, Youtube, etc still waiting on numbers tho,” Ohanian replied.

The explanation offered an important piece of context behind the unusual-looking crowd. ATHLOS had not opened the entire StoneX Stadium to spectators. Instead, it used one section along the home straight, meaning the empty areas elsewhere were not necessarily seats that had gone unsold.

That distinction mattered because ATHLOS had promoted the London event as a sellout. Some fans, however, remained unconvinced after seeing the stadium during the broadcast, with one questioning why the organization had not opened additional sections.

For Ohanian, though, the bigger picture was not simply about filling seats. ATHLOS was making its first move outside the United States, bringing its all-women format to London with seven events and some of the biggest names in the sport.

What did the athletes say after the event?

Sha’Carri Richardson and others say after the race at the Athlos London 2026

Richardson brought the evening to a flying start, winning the 100m in 10.80 seconds. Thomas followed by taking the 200m in 22.13, while Paulino edged Henriette Jæger in a thrilling 400m, clocking a meet-record 48.73. Hodgkinson then closed out the night with another meet record, winning the 800m in 1:56.40.

For Richardson, the victory came only days after the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, where she had finished third in the 100m. Yet after another race, she sounded less like an athlete celebrating the end of a season and more like someone already eager for the next one. “I feel really good,” Richardson said. “I wish it was the beginning of my season instead of the end.”

Thomas, meanwhile, had a more personal reason to be looking forward to what comes next. “I’m really excited to get back home and get married,” she said.

Hodgkinson’s night carried its own sense of occasion. The Olympic champion finished an injury-affected season by defending her ATHLOS 800m crown, doing so in a striking black Nike speed suit developed specifically for her. The 1:56.40 was a meeting record and gave her a memorable ending to a difficult campaign.

“I’m honoured they let me put this on show. I was a little nervous, walking out. The shades helped me just block out the noise, but it was really fun and it’s something I’ll remember forever,” said Hodgkinson.

Yet away from the races, Ohanian was also listening to the reaction surrounding his event.

One fan told him that despite being a lifelong athletics supporter, ATHLOS did not feel like it was targeting them. Ohanian responded by asking for honesty rather than dismissing the criticism. “We know the athletes had the time of their lives, where did we miss the mark with you?”

That willingness to engage is central to Ohanian’s approach. ATHLOS was launched in 2024 with the ambition of creating a women-only track series built around athlete visibility, entertainment and ownership. The London event was the first step in taking that idea onto an international stage.

But 2026 has not gone entirely according to plan.

ATHLOS had originally planned another New York meeting for October 2. That event was eventually cancelled after Ohanian said athlete feedback made it clear that asking competitors to race again at the end of an already demanding season was too much. He said the organization intends to align ATHLOS more closely with the global athletics calendar from 2027

That leaves London as the defining event of ATHLOS’ 2026 campaign. And while the visible crowd became a talking point, the athletes themselves delivered the kind of performances Ohanian hopes will eventually make the series a fixture on the sporting calendar.