"Giant stars that capture our attention for a few weeks"- Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian shares harsh reality of track and women's sports

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, spoke about the harsh reality of track and the problems faced by female athletes as they pursue their careers in the sporting world. The co-founder of Reddit revealed how female athletes are often under the spotlight after incredible performances during major events like the Olympics; however, due to a lack of track events throughout the year that reach a wide audience, they lose their traction.

After considering these factors, Ohanian decided to step up and launched an all-women track league called 'Athlos,' featuring some of the best athletes in the world. Along with incredible races, the event featured performances from Megan Thee Stallion and DJ DNice, making it an unforgettable experience for the viewers.

Moreover, Athlos gave the athletes a significant paycheck, exceeding that of Diamond League events. Alexis Ohanian recently discussed his vision of creating an event that positively impacts the women's sports landscape at Web Summit Qatar.

"Track happened to be a perfect example of a sport where you have these giant stars that capture our attention for a few weeks and then somehow they disappear and so, Athlos was a chance to say okay, let's create an event that celebrates it. Let's make like a Super Bowl for track, and it was a spectacle, and our ambitions have always been to keep growing and keep pushing. We're going to continue to build infrastructure to support women's track," he said.

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Alexis Ohanian on coming up with the idea to launch Athlos

Alexis Ohanian speaks during The Women's Sports Foundation's 2022 Annual Salute To Women In Sports Gala - Source: Getty

Alexis Ohanian spoke about how he first came up with the idea to launch Athlos in an interview with Citius Mag. The co-founder of Reddit revealed that the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials was the first track meet that he ever attended and it was there that the idea of launching his own track meet struck him.

According to Ohanian, people were getting to watch great performances on the track; however, due to multiple events on the same day, he could not focus on watching one event at a time.

“I had never been to a track meet before and then I went to my first one in Eugene. I saw the (Olympic) Qualifiers and so that was incredible right. I was like ‘okay this is so exhilarating’, and then I'm watching Tara (Davis-Woodhall) who is so dynamic, she's such a star and she has her section of the stadium all gassed up for one of her jumps but at the same time there's like a race going on. And as a casual sort of first-timer, I'm torn between two storylines that I know I should be paying attention to," he said.

The 41-year-old entrepreneur revealed that this motivated him to create a specially curated track meet highlighting one event at a time, along with a brief about the athlete's journey to allow the audience to connect better.