Brittany Brown leads Athlos NYC women’s track meet winners

Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown was a big winner of the first Athlos NYC all-women’s track meet in New York City.

Brown took the 200m over Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, plus finished second in the 100m, to pocket $85,000 in prize money and a Tiffany & Co. crown given to each of the six race winners.

In the final event of the night, Brown clocked 22.18 seconds in the 200m, overtaking Thomas by three hundredths at Icahn Stadium.

About 80 minutes earlier, Brown was runner-up in the 100m won by Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith of Cote d’Ivoire in 10.98.

“The first inaugural event for all women, I’m just really appreciative of everyone supporting us women,” Brown said on the broadcast.

Brown’s recent success is a product of perseverance. After making her first Olympic team at age 29, she noted that she never won a state title in high school, didn’t go to a “big track school” for college (Iowa), never won an NCAA title and wasn’t signed to a shoe contract to start her professional career.

She worked as a babysitter, a restaurant bus girl and a caregiver for people dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia to support her track career early on.

She won 200m silver at the 2019 World Championships, then went five years before her next global championship medal in the Paris Olympic 200m.

“I feel like this sport is really changing and growing,” Brown said. “I’m excited to be a part of it. This is a whole new event. We tried something new. I’m happy to be a part of trying. I feel like so many people just sit and talk about, OK, let’s do this, let’s do this. But no one’s doing it. So I’m happy to be a part of people doing the work.”

In other events, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico won the 100m hurdles in 12.36 seconds, beating a field that included Paris Olympic champion Masai Russell, who was third in 12.44.

Kenyan Faith Kipyegon extended her three-year win streak in the 1500m, pulling away from Ethiopian Diribe Welteji in the last 200 meters.

In the 400m, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic capped an undefeated season with a victory in 49.59, distancing runner-up Alexis Holmes by four tenths.

The Athlos meet was created by Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder who previously invested in women’s sports with the NWSL club Angel City FC. Athlos is derived from the Greek word for athlete.

The meet combined competition with entertainment, including a performance by Megan Thee Stallion after the last race.

Ohanian said earlier Thursday that “we’re absolutely doing this again next year.”

“The bare minimum is that this is one of the most exciting sporting events in New York sports,” he said. “I wanted to capture, like, the U.S. Open night match energy. I wanted to capture if we can get a little bit of the New York Knicks or Liberty playoff match energy. And maybe throw in a little bit of music festival energy.”

Athlos NYC Track Meet Results

100m (wind +.1 m/s)
1. Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith (CIV) — 10.98
2. Brittany Brown (USA) — 11.05
3. Candace Hill (USA) — 11.14
4. Daryll Neita (GBR) — 11.29
5. Zoe Hobbs (NZL) — 11.38
6. Celera Barnes (USA) — 11.41

100m Hurdles (wind +.6 m/s)
1. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR) — 12.36
2. Alaysha Johnson (USA) — 12.43
3. Masai Russell (USA) — 12.44
4. Tonea Marshall (USA) — 12.51
5. Danielle Williams (JAM) — 12.56
6. Charisma Taylor (BAH) — 13.58

200m (wind +.7m/s)
1. Brittany Brown (USA) — 22.18
2. Gabby Thomas (USA) — 22.21
3. Anavia Battle (USA) — 22.34
4. Jenna Prandini (USA) — 22.62.
5. Tamara Clark (USA) — 22.83
6. Torrie Lewis (AUS) — 23.53

400m
1. Marileidy Paulino (DOM) — 49.59
2. Alexis Holmes (USA) — 49.99
3. Salwa Eid Naser (BRN) — 50.40
4. Shamier Little (USA) — 51.28
5. Lieke Klaver (NED) — 51.82
6. Lynna Irby-Jackson (USA) — 51.83

800m
1. Tsige Dugume (ETH) — 1:57.43
2. Mary Moraa (KEN) — 1:58.05
3. Natoya Goule-Toppin (JAM) — 1:58.63
4. Addy Wiley (USA) — 1:58.93
5. Halimah Nakaayi (UGA) — 1:59.62
6. Nia Akins (USA) — 2:01.32

1500m
1. Faith Kipyegon (KEN) — 4:04.79
2. Diribe Welteji (ETH) — 4:05.58
3. Susan Ejore-Sanders (KEN) — 4:06.25
4. Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) — 4:06.81
5. Cory McGee (USA) — 4:07.09
6. Katie Snowden (GBR) — 4:07.57

NBC Olympic research contributed to this report.