Faith Kipyegon shines in inaugural women-only Athlos NYC athletics meet
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Kenya's Faith Kipyegon triumphed at the inaugural women-only Athlos NYC meet on Sept 26.
PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK – Kenya’s Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon took a victory lap with an easy win in the 1,500m at the inaugural women-only Athlos NYC meet on Sept 26, while Brittany Brown stunned Paris 200m gold medallist Gabrielle Thomas.
Launched by entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, the husband of retired American tennis great Serena Williams, Athlos aims to build off the star power of women’s athletics, and fans piled into New York’s Icahn Stadium for a party atmosphere at the end of a busy season.
The winners of each event pocketed US$60,000 (S$77,000) – twice the prize money offered at the Diamond League finale – and received a custom Tiffany crown.
World-record holder Kipyegon, who claimed a third successive Olympic title in Paris, underlined her status as queen of the “metric mile” after crossing the line in 4min 4.79sec to claim victory in New York.
Ethiopian Diribe Welteji (4:05.58) could not match the Kenyan’s power in a breathless sprint finish, while another Kenyan, Susan Ejore-Sanders (4:06.25), was third.
American Thomas ran out of gas in the final 50m of the 200m and finished three hundredths of a second behind Paris bronze medallist Brown, who clocked 22.18 seconds.
“I feel like this sport is really changing and growing – I’m excited to be a part of it,” said Brown. “This is a whole new event and we’re trying something new and I’m happy to be a part of trying.”
Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith won the 100m in 10.98sec, with Brown coming in second (11.05sec).
Olympic 400m champion Marileidy Paulino triumphed in 49.59sec, while Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won the 100m hurdles in 12.36sec, less than two weeks after claiming the Diamond League finale.
“It’s only women – we’re able to put on a show,” Camacho-Quinn told the crowd after her race.
Paris 800m silver medallist Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia held off a challenge from Kenyan Mary Moraa around the final turn to cross the line first in 1:57.43.
On Athlos NYC, Ohanian said before the meet: “You just look at the follower counts, you look at the engagement. Women athletes – and in this example, with track – just are way more compelling.
“I have a ‘spidey sense’ for where there are hyper-engaged communities of fans and women’s sports have them in droves.”
Ohanian was the lead investor behind National Women’s Soccer League side Angel City FC, which became the world’s most valuable women’s sports franchise four years after its founding this summer with a landmark new ownership agreement that valued the team at US$250 million.
REUTERS, AFP
