BBC to air Alexis Ohanian's Athlos series as women's athletics lands in London

The BBC has agreed to broadcast the next edition of Athlos, the all-female athletics series co-founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, when it arrives at Saracens' StoneX Stadium in London this September. The meet will feature Olympic and world champions including Keely Hodgkinson, Sha'Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas and Georgia Hunter Bell.

Backed by Ohanian's Seven Seven Six venture capital firm, which manages nearly $1bn in assets, Athlos has also attracted investment from Richardson, Thomas and Tara Davis-Woodhall. The series began in New York and has outlasted rival venture Grand Slam Track, launched by Michael Johnson. London marks its first event outside the American East Coast.

Ohanian's expanding women's sport portfolio

Ohanian, husband of tennis great Serena Williams, has made women's sport a centrepiece of his investment strategy. Beyond Athlos, he holds a 10 per cent stake in Chelsea Women's Super League side and was an early backer of Angel City FC before a group led by Disney chief Bob Iger took control. He has predicted Chelsea could become the first women's football club valued at $1bn. His portfolio also includes a TGL golf team and a League One Volleyball franchise.

"The BBC is where the UK falls in love with athletics, and there's no better partner to introduce Athlos to British fans,"

Said Kayla Green, acting president of Athlos. She added that streaming on the BBC means every fan in the country can watch the world's fastest women make history as the series expands globally.

What happens next

The StoneX Stadium event follows the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, which begin next week and will also be shown on the BBC. That scheduling gives the broadcaster a rare block of consecutive athletics coverage, potentially boosting audiences for Athlos. For Ohanian, a successful London debut would strengthen the case for further international dates and deepen the commercial appeal of a series built explicitly around women's competition.

If the format proves transferable, Athlos could become a template for how niche sports properties use targeted investment and public-service broadcasting partnerships to reach new markets without relying on traditional federation calendars.