It’s official: track and field is hot right now. The sport’s ascendence was on full display this summer at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, and the Paris Olympics. While the Diamond League pro circuit wrapped up last weekend in Brussels, track will once again be a marquee attraction at 7 P.M. ET Thursday night at the inaugural Athlos NYC women’s-only professional track meet under the lights of New York City’s Icahn Stadium.

Coming hot on the heels of not only a surge of interest in track and field, but also in women’s sports at large, Athlos will showcase some of track’s biggest stars competing for the largest prize purse in the sport’s history.

But the six-event meet—yes, just six running events—will be paired with music and other  entertainment, plus a concert from Grammy-winning artist Meghan Thee Stallion in what might be best described as a track-meets-Coachella vibe. Ultimately, it’s an attempt to elevate and celebrate the sport and some of its most dazzling athletes—both of which draw huge mainstream interest during the Olympics but otherwise suffer from a lack of popularity and fan engagement. The U.S. Olympic team has won the track and field medal count at every Olympics since 1984, but domestic track meets still struggle to sell out stadiums in Eugene, Los Angeles, and New York City.

RELATED: Alexis Ohanian’s Big Bet on Women’s Sports Comes to Women’s Track

Track Reimagined 

Athlos NYC is the first of what could be several new track events attempting to “fix track and field” and capitalize on the talents of the world’s best athletes. Sprinting legend Michael Johnson is launching Grand Slam Track next year, a four-meet series backed by a hefty investment by Winners Alliance (the for-profit arm of the Professional Tennis Players Association), while Barry Kahn, a former Cornell distance runner, plans to hold the first Duael Track meet, a March Madness-style head-to-head event, in March 2025.

Already, this past summer as the Olympics were taking place in Paris, the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio, hosted the Inaugural Women’s Decathlon World Championships. The 10-event decathlon is not offered for women in international competition like the Olympics (but the seven-event heptathlon is), so a private group of organizers staged an unsanctioned world championship for 29 competitors from around the world as a call to action for the International Olympic Committee and World Athletics to embrace the event.

Athlos NYC could be onto something special. If nothing else, with the glow of the Olympic buzz still hanging around, the women of the sport will get a chance to close out the year in style.

Here are 10 things you need to know about Athlos NYC to get psyched for the action.

1. All Women, No Men.

The invitational meet is only open to women. Women’s sports have been finally getting more mainstream attention in recent years. Thanks to athletic icons like Caitlin Clark (basketball), Megan Rapinoe (soccer), Simone Biles (gymnastics), Serena Williams (tennis, see No. 4), and the University of Nebraska women’s volleyball team (Google it), the general public has figured out that women’s sports rock.

RELATED: Memorable Moments from a Historic Women’s Race at the Olympic Trials

 2. All Track, No Field.

Athlos NYC  will only have six running events: 100- 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter races, plus the 100-meter hurdles. There will be no field events, no long-distance events, and no relays. But that doesn’t mean Athlos will exclude those disciplines in the future. And as the Athlos team builds the meet from the ground-up, they’re trying to correct the flaws of the current track and field business model, including how most events don’t receive full attention because there are three things going on at once, how TV coverage is interrupted by ill-timed commercial breaks, and a lack of identity for up-and-coming talents.

 3. It’s a Track Meet with Big-Time Investment.

Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and husband of Serena Williams, is the primary investor behind Athlos NYC via his Seven Seven Six venture capital firm. The 41-year-old Brooklyn-born entrepreneur co-founded and invested in the women’s professional soccer team Angel City FC, as well as the Los Angeles Golf Club, and the women’s sports bar known as The Sports Bra, which he says he’s interested in franchising across the U.S. Ohanian has said that if Athlos NYC goes well, there will likely be more events like it in the future.

4. Why is it called Athlos NYC?

The event was initially called the 776 Invitational to honor the year of the ancient Olympics (held in 776 BC), but the name was changed to “Athlos NYC” this summer. “Athlos” is a Greek word that means embodying the essence of excellence and triumph.

5. A Star-Studded Lineup.

Athlos NYC promised a stacked entry list, and it delivered several top stars and four Paris Olympic gold medalists. Top names in the six-race, 36-athlete roster include Gabby Thomas, who won America’s heart with her gold-medal performance in the 200 meters at the Paris Olympics, followed by two more golds in the 4×100-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay. She was the first athlete to sign onto Athlos and helped Ohanian announce the event to the public. She’ll be joined in the 200 by Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown and two-time Olympian Jenna Prandini.

RELATED: Gabby Thomas Wins Three Golds—and America’s Heart

The 100-meter hurdles will pit the last two Olympic champions Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico and Masai Russell of the U.S., against reigning world champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica. The 400 will feature the respective Paris gold and silver medalists, Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic) and Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain), as well as U.S. Olympians Shamier Little and Alexis Holmes.  Fellow U.S. Olympian Nia Akins will face off in the 800 against 2023 world champ Mary Moraa of Kenya. And what might be the highlight of the racing action, the 1500 meters will feature Kenyan middle-distance GOAT Faith Kipyegon, the three-time Olympic champion and world record holder, going head-to-head with Gudaf Tsegay, the Ethiopian star and the world record holder in the 5,000 who is also the third-fastest 1500 runner in history.

However, several of track’s brightest stars—including two-time Olympic 400-meter hurdles champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Olympic 100-meter champion Julien Alfred, British middle-distance stalwart Keely Hodgkinson, and American sprint phenom Sha’Carri Richardson—are not competing.

6. The Biggest Track Prize Purse in History.

The purse is the largest-ever for a track meet: $60,000 for first place, $25,000 for second, $10,000 for third, $8,000 for fourth, $5,000 for fifth, and $2,500 for sixth in each of the five events. That’s a whopping $552,500 total in prize money. The winner’s take-home payout is more than what was paid at the Paris Olympics ($50,000) and twice what the Diamond League Finals paid winners ($30,000). Plus, each event champion will receive a specially crafted Tiffany & Company crown, and 10 percent of all Athlos revenue—including ticket sales, will be redistributed to participating athletes.

7. Megan Thee Stallion is Headlining.

Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (aka Megan Thee Stallion) won’t be running, but the Grammy-winning pop star who is known for top hits “Savage” and “Hot Girl Summer” will be putting on a live show. A concert at a sporting event might give Athlos NYC Super Bowl vibes. “We haven’t announced the specific run of show for the event,” says Athlos chief marketing officer Kayla Green. “We want spectators to come along for the ride with us. We’re inviting them to experience a new kind of track event that celebrates the athletes at the center. The night is a blend of speed and sound.” DJ Derric “D-Nice” Jones will spin records between events and curate iconic walk-out music for each runner in the lead-up to their race.

8. For Women, By Women.

On-camera personality and Peloton fitness instructor Robin Arzón will serve as an event commentator alongside American track great Sonya Richards Ross. The event will provide the first-ever race bibs designed for women in a smaller size, facilitating what the organizers say will be “not only a better fit for a woman’s torso but also for the smaller competition tops often worn by these athletes.” In addition, Serena Williams’ beauty company, WYN Beauty, will be doing hair and makeup for athletes prior to competition.

9. Will Big Stars Be in the Audience?

Icahn Stadium holds 5,000 people in its grandstands, but the event will also set up 10 private suites at the track level. While event organizers “don’t have a readout on audience demographics,” if recent sporting events in New York City are any indication, there’s a chance there will be some famous fans in the crowd supporting some of the fastest women in the world. (Stars like rapper Flavor Flav, fashion icon Vera Wang, actor Matthew McConaughy, and yes, pop star Taylor Swift were all in attendance at the U.S. Open.) But as of Wednesday, the event has not sold out. Dozens of tickets are still available, ranging in price from $80 to $95 at face value and up to $498 on the resale ticket market on the Athlos event site

10. You Can Catch All the Action from Home or Your Phone.

Athlos NYC will be livestreamed on X, YouTube, ESPN+, and DAZN (international). Athlos NYC will also re-air on ESPN2 from 6-8 P.M. ET on September 29.