Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos and Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track are bold swings to revive track and field—a sport gasping for air in the USA outside the Olympics. They get it: track needs a jolt. The question is, what kind? 

The Olympics prove track and field can grip the nation’s attention—30 million Americans watched the 2024 Paris 100-meter final (NBC Sports). Same oval, same events, yet it was must-see TV. So why does track vanish for 1,440 days between? 

Here are ten hurdles—mirroring the 110m and 100m hurdle races—that track must clear to matter again, and how Athlos can lead the charge.

Hurdle #1: Running’s Built to Do, Not Watch

Track’s first hurdle? Its own base doesn’t care. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe once suggested that with 50 million self-described runners, athletics has a built-in fan base. Evidently, Lord Coe has never wandered through a major marathon expo and asked runners to name the top athletes in the race they were about to run. If he had, he would have quickly learned that nobody knew—nor cared. Duffers in golf watch pro golf, especially this year’s Ryder Cup. The average tennis player roots for either Sinner or Alcaraz. Runners don’t even know who the contenders are. Big disconnect. Forget casual fans. Try hooking your own.

Hurdle #2: Perfection’s a Burnout Machine

Track’s obsession with record times every race is a treadmill to injury and disappointment. In 2025, Athlos stars Gabby Thomas and Sha’Carri Richardson sat out the meet with post-season injuries (Track & Field News). General sports fans don’t obsess over 10.65 versus 10.68—they care about who ran those times when something important was on the line. But with every athlete going for tip-top form, it’s inevitable that injuries will cut them down. And when records are constantly touted, then fail to fall, rather than a good race, what lingers feels like a disappointing result. 

Track needs to shift to head-to-head battles, not decimals, to keep athletes healthy and races meaningful.

Hurdle #3: The Time Trial Trap

Paced races make the clock the opponent, not rivals. Non-championship meets feel like lab tests—scrimmages with prize money. Cycling’s Tour de France doesn’t have riders chasing split times during stages; every race counts, but every stage is different. Ditch pacers outside record attempts. Make athletes race each other from the gun. It’s interesting, when stakes are high—an Olympic final—time doesn’t matter. But when stakes are low, time becomes paramount. The race has to be the thing. The time is just what it took.

Hurdle #4: The Scale Problem

Track is human-scaled; it doesn’t fill the senses. Icahn Stadium’s empty backstretch doesn’t scream spectacle. The fastest man in history, Usain Bolt, hit a top speed of 27 mph—insane for you and me, but nothing compared to the 200 mph roar of Formula 1, which is Ohanian’s model for Athlos’s 2026 circuit. 

Team sports wrap their speed in rivalry and identity; while track’s just a clock and a lane. The Olympics show human scale works when you make us care about the humans. Bolt wasn’t just fast—he carried Jamaica’s hopes, a major winning streak, danced, and owned the stage. Athlos needs ongoing stories, not just splits, to make speed resonate.

Hurdle #5: Stakes, Not Just Gender

Athlos’s women-only model, inspired by Serena Williams and Ohanian’s daughters, is a sincere swing. Women’s sports viewership jumped 9.9% since 2020 (Sports & Fitness Industry Association), so it could pull in new fans and spotlight stars like Faith Kipyegon. But gender’s a filter, not a format. Without stakes—rivalries, consequences—it’s just another meet with better lighting. 

We know it is headed in this direction, but Athlos must build season-long narratives, yes, like the Diamond League, to keep fans hooked.

Hurdle #6: Innovation’s Stuck in the Blocks

Track talks innovation but rarely delivers. Athlos’s 2025 Times Square long jump on Friday night with Tara Davis-Woodhall was a flashy start, but why stop there? They put it in Times Square because of all the lights, right? Well, take note. Installing a lit-upon-contact takeoff board—green for fair, red for foul—would instantly alert the crowd.

Tennis got rid of line judges. Baseball is about to eject plate umpires calling balls and strikes. We don’t need the guy in the chair staring down at the launch point like he’s carefully designing a mandala. And as for measuring, we have the GPS technology precise enough to map the continent to a thousandth of a millimeter. So why are we waiting on an old guy with a measuring stick stuck in the sand, like he’s out there with a metal detector hunting for quarters? 

And starting blocks, wired not just for sound but light, could instantly flash red to show false starts, like drag racing’s 300 mph precision. But also following drag racing’s model, we’re only having one start. 

You can still use the lit takeoff board, but measure long jumps by actual distance, adjusting for takeoff point (already shown on replays). These aren’t gimmicks; they use technology to make the sport more visual, while removing the mystery and delay that alienate casual fans.

If Track won’t try modernizing, it’s not serious about growth. We’re in a new media landscape, and if Track doesn’t adapt, it’ll be left behind. We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.

Hurdle #7: Mismatches Without Drama

Pitting Faith Kipyegon, the 1500m GOAT, against American record holder Nikki Hiltz—because that was the pre-race build-up—wasn’t a race, it was a rout. Athlos’s 2025 mile with a pointless pacer sold a done deal. Fixes:

•  Handicap Racing. Give Faith a 10-second deficit. Can she catch up? The Honolulu Marathon’s Kalakaua Merrie Mile used a 32-second women’s head start over the men last December, and fans loved it—Hiltz won!

•  Final Boss Mode. Make Faith the boss. Straight up racing, but beat her, and the payout quadruples. Turn dominance into drama, not a snooze.

Hurdle #8: Modest Money, Modest Impact

Athlos’s $60,000 first-place payouts are nice, but we really want to announce how far behind we really are in real terms? Maybe it isn’t fair to compare, but a 50th-place PGA Tour check in 2024 was $67,000 (PGA). And tennis’s majors pay millions—ask Serena. Track can’t compete on a cash-for-cash basis unless a billionaire wants to light money on fire. 

But you could build relative stakes—make this race matter for the next one. A season where momentum compounds rewards makes $60,000 feel like a beginning not an end.

Hurdle #9: No Season, No Story

Track has numbers—1.2 million U.S. kids run high school track and cross-country (NFHS)—but no narratives. Races reset to zero every weekend. F1 builds season-long drama; track posts results.

And venue matters. A 2023 Diamond League meet at Icahn Stadium drew 5,000 fans; the Miami Grand Prix pulled 275,000 (ESPN). Yet Olympic stadiums—same design—feel electric with packed seats because of the clear stakes. But beyond Eugene, Oregon’s Hayward Field, where’s track’s iconic performance theater? Athlos needs buzzing venues and broadcasts that sell the drama over a calendar’s time, not just racing distances. 

Hurdle #10: The Story Problem

The Olympics prove stories exist: Sha’Carri’s redemption, Noah Lyles racing with COVID in Paris. Social media amplifies stars—Lyles’s 1.5 million X followers drive buzz—but track’s structure doesn’t sustain it. Youth participation is dropping (down 5% in track since 2019, NFHS), and casual fans need more than one-off races. Build a season with consequence, risk, and resolution, and stories will emerge.

Athlos needs, let’s say, six meets, cumulative points, a 10x prize final, and real-time eliminations. Ohanian’s idea of a constructors’ prize—Team Nike vs. Adidas vs. New Balance vs. Puma—adds team stakes, like Formula 1, for personal and collective glory. Good idea.

The Verdict

Athlos and Grand Slam Track are hunting for track’s American revival in a sport that’s been stagnant for decades. But just like most hunts fail, you learn from each attempt and keep hunting. Athlos’s women-only angle, Times Square flair, and constructors’ prize are positive steps, but $60,000, women’s-only, and better music don’t answer: Why care about this race, today? Stakes, structure, and stories—the Olympic magic compressed into a season—do, or at least have a chance. 

Track makes for great TV once every four years. Athlos is on a path to make it matter during the in-between. Let’s root for them to get it right as they move forward.

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