In 2025, ATHLOS made its athletes including stars like Gabby Thomas, Tara Davis-Woodhall, and others, feel like stars even before they stepped onto the track. As part of the event experience, athletes found “luxurious gift bags” waiting for them in their hotel rooms. A year later, Sha’Carri Richardson was on the other side of that gesture as she gave special presents to Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian’s daughters at the ATHLOS 2026 red carpet in London.
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The moment came on a night when ATHLOS reached another milestone. After holding its first two editions in New York, the women-only track and field event made its international debut at StoneX Stadium in London on September 18. Richardson was among the major names in the lineup, while Serena and Alexis arrived with their daughters, Olympia and Adira, for the occasion.
On the red carpet, Alexis was seen with his two daughters. Olympia looked adorable in a varsity jacket and jeans, while Adira wore a tan two-piece outfit. Richardson was also there in a long, dark-gray dress. But it was what she carried that caught another kind of attention. Richardson was seen holding what appeared to be a small, shiny silver bag. And then gifted the similar-looking bags to Olympia and Adira.
The gesture came as Richardson’s relationship with ATHLOS has grown far beyond that of a regular competitor. In May 2025, she joined Gabby Thomas and Tara Davis-Woodhall as a founding advisor-owner of the organization created by Alexis Ohanian. But Ohanian had actually been paying attention to Richardson years before she became part of ATHLOS.
After becoming interested in women’s track, he began seeing videos of Sha’Carri on his social-media feeds. Her performances, personality and personal story caught his attention. “I can’t not pay attention to her,” Ohanian said, describing Richardson as having “amazing energy” and a “big personality.” He also said, “I have something invested. I want to see her be successful.”
That interest eventually developed into something much bigger. When ATHLOS expanded toward a team-based league in 2025, Ohanian announced Richardson, Thomas, and Davis-Woodhall as founding advisor-owners.
Their relationship has since become more visible beyond formal announcements. In 2026, Richardson and Ohanian appeared together in Miami to discuss ATHLOS and its plans for women’s track and field.
Richardson also has a separate connection with Serena. She has spoken openly about the influence Serena and Venus Williams had on her, describing them as Black women who “paved the way through adversity, through being misunderstood, through having that confidence to say it’s okay to believe in yourself out loud and know that your ability to be bold, along with your talent is something that starts within yourself.”
That makes the London red-carpet moment feel more personal than a simple exchange between two famous athletes’ families. Richardson has developed a working relationship with Alexis through ATHLOS, while Serena has been a source of inspiration and encouragement for her. Now, with Olympia and Adira standing alongside their parents at ATHLOS London, Richardson was seen extending that connection to the next generation.