Hodgkinson powers to Athlos win in speed suit

ByHarry Poole

BBC Sport journalist

Keely Hodgkinson powered to triumph successful a custom-made full-body velocity suit earlier being presented with a Tiffany & Co crown arsenic Athlos made its London debut.

Hodgkinson was greeted by large cheers arsenic she emerged connected to a signifier and revealed the all-black aerodynamic outfit astatine the 3rd variation of the all-female athletics meet.

The 24-year-old ensured she ended a mixed twelvemonth with a ascendant 800m triumph successful beforehand of a sellout location assemblage astatine StoneX Stadium, bursting wide connected the backmost consecutive and crossing the enactment successful 1 infinitesimal 56.40 seconds.

Speaking astir the outfit, Hodgkinson said: "This is simply a task we person been moving connected with Nike for a agelong time. We thought: What a cleanable spot to bring it out, velocity gathering style, each women's event. It went down a treat."

Created by Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and hubby of tennis' 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams, Athlos was staging a conscionable for the archetypal clip extracurricular of New York.

In summation to the metallic Tiffany crown awarded to winners alternatively of medals, a apical prize of $65,000 (£48,500) was connected connection successful each event.

The single-night conscionable included 7 disciplines, each featuring six athletes, with wealth connected connection for each presumption from a full lawsuit prize cookware of $1.05m (£790,500).

American sprint stars Gabby Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson were among the champions amid a enactment ambiance which featured a unrecorded track-side DJ.

The athletes had arrived connected a reddish carpet successful northbound London but Hodgkinson saved her starring infinitesimal for the main event.

The eye-catching velocity suit featured an unfastened backmost and a hood with a ponytail opening, portion colour-changing 3D-printed details reduced resistance successful cardinal areas.

Paired with acheronian sunglasses and Nike's latest carbon-plated spikes, it helped Hodgkinson execute her archetypal triumph since the London Diamond League successful July.

It has been a twelvemonth of record-breaking highs and frustrating setbacks for the Olympic champion.

An indoor play successful which she landed her archetypal satellite 800m rubric and smashed a 24-year satellite grounds heightened expectations that she would instrumentality down the sport's longest-standing people outdoors.

But a nasty autumn suffered connected a post-session chill down tally successful July, and a recurrence of the hamstring wounded which kept her retired of enactment for overmuch of 2025 astatine the European Championships, conspired to hinder her progress.

While inactive improving her British grounds this summer, Hodgkinson finished 2nd to breakout Swiss prima Audrey Werro astatine some the European Championships and inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship.

However, she ended the play with a grin connected her look and a crown connected her caput arsenic she danced connected signifier with the night's different winners.

Training spouse Georgia Hunter Bell was pipped to triumph successful the mile by Poland's Klaudia Kazimierska.

Diamond League champion Kazimierska, who denied Hunter Bell successful her bid to triumph a 4th large rubric of 2026 astatine past week's World Athletics Ultimate Championship, squeezed past connected the wrong to borderline the Briton successful 4 minutes 19.43 seconds.

That adjacent decorativeness near Ohanian successful disbelief arsenic helium watched trackside alongside tennis large Williams and their children, with celebrated athletes and celebrities besides present.

Former satellite champion Richardson stormed to triumph successful the 100m successful 10.80 seconds, arsenic Britons Imani-Lara Lansiquot (11.35) and Daryll Neita (11.36) placed 4th and 5th respectively.

Olympic 200m champion Thomas took triumph successful the last contention of the night, winning the 200m successful 22.13 seconds, portion Dominican Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino overhauled Norway's Henriette Jaeger to triumph the 400m successful 48.73 seconds.

There were besides wins for Americans Alaysha Johnson successful the 100m hurdles and Alyssa Jones successful the agelong jump.

Ohanian has been wide astir his eventual volition to marque Athlos a planetary season-long league.

Athlos was expected to grow to a two-day lawsuit successful 2026, but the New York gathering scheduled for 2 October was cancelled pursuing consultation with the athletes astatine the extremity of a agelong season.

Instead, Ohanian present hopes to align Athlos wrong the planetary athletics calendar from adjacent year.

How that volition enactment remains to beryllium seen. The Diamond League, athletics' premier season-long series, runs from May until September, portion the instauration of the Ultimate Championship - joining the Olympics and the World Championships connected the calendar - means each play volition present diagnostic a planetary contention of immoderate description.

American Masai Russell, who broke the 100m hurdles satellite grounds past month, was among the precocious Athlos withdrawals pursuing past week's Ultimate, organised by the sport's governing assemblage and offering grounds prize cookware of $10m.

After a week successful which countless pistillate athletes denounced a arguable sports betting institution advertisement featuring histrion Sydney Sweeney, Ohanian said helium wanted Friday's lawsuit to enactment the attraction backmost connected the "actual athletes".

It achieved conscionable that, with immoderate of the world's apical pistillate athletes going head-to-head successful competitory events portion besides being allowed the abstraction to explicit their personalities.

Ohanian is determined to span a perceived disconnect betwixt the attraction connected the athletics astatine each Olympic Games compared to the remainder of the calendar successful those four-year cycles.

The 43-year-old acceptable up the Angel City FC women's shot nine successful Los Angeles six years agone aft leaving Reddit, and purchased a 10% involvement successful Women's Super League squad Chelsea successful 2025.

At Athlos, the athletes who person competed successful its aboriginal events were offered equity successful the league, the thought being that they volition beryllium rewarded if it is successful.

"I would person loved to person had this erstwhile I was younger. Hopefully the youngsters tin spot this and person their clip 1 day," Hodgkinson said.

While immoderate person criticised the exclusion of men's events, Ohanian said an archetypal absorption connected pistillate athletes was a concern determination and helium has identified the 2028 edition, astir the Los Angeles Olympics, an accidental to grow successful that regard.

By

Sports News Correspondent

Athlos acceptable retired to beryllium different, and it decidedly felt that. There was arsenic overmuch showbusiness arsenic determination was athletics - this was each astir the "event".

Athletes arrived connected bespoke London buses and walked the reddish carpet earlier their event. Several of the athletes said they enjoyed having the spotlight connected them and being capable to harvester their athletics with manner and galore volition present beryllium portion of London Fashion Week.

Georgia Hunter Bell emerged from a melee of screaming children telling her she was their idol onto the reddish carpet and said she felt "valued".

It was surely noisy, and the nonmigratory DJ meant astatine times it felt much similar you were successful a nine than an athletics meet. But the athletes and fans seemed to bargain into the vibe.

One antheral told maine helium had been to 27 satellite championships and 5 Olympics and wasn't definite he'd bask Athlos, but loved it. A pistillate whose girl is portion of the athletics nine who bid astatine StoneX Stadium said she thought it was "remarkable" and "inspirational".

There volition beryllium learnings from this archetypal travel to London, but arsenic a starting point, it felt similar it lived up to its hype.