Keely Hodgkinson looked like a flying ninja in sunglasses and a new Nike speedsuit as she dominated the 800 metres at the all-female Athlos meet in London.
The Olympic champion chose the Stone-X Stadium and the international debut of the spectacle-embracing meet to debut the Catwoman-esque, all-black ensemble, which featured a black hood with a ponytail cut-out and long black sleeves.
The Briton claimed 65,000 US Dollars (£48,522) from the 1,057,000 USD (£790,266) prize pot, afterwards describing the statement outfit in an on-track interview as “pretty sick”.
`Hodgkinson’s training partner Georgia Hunter Bell, who was pipped to the finish in the mile by emerging Polish rival Klaudia Kazimierska, said: “I was like, it’s a really good time to wear it, because you want to wear that in a race you know you’re going to win.
“It’s a big statement piece, but I think it is really interesting because that is going to be the norm in a few years. What looks crazy now, that is going to be an option that you can wear for the (2028) Olympics, so it’s exciting to showcase it now.
“That’s a little out there for me at first. I was like, ‘You go first. You be the guinea pig and we’ll see’. But apparently it’s going to be faster, so we’ll see.”
Hodgkinson won in one minute 56.40 seconds, well ahead of second-placed Switzerland’s Valentina Rosamilia, who crossed in 1min 58.75secs.
Athlos, created by Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, unabashedly embraces spectacle, fashion, music and the power of social media and is fuelled by a digital-first philosophy, so it made for the ideal catwalk.
The event kicked off with a red carpet parade, capped off by Hodgkinson, who fully embraced the sartorial moment in a baggy tracksuit, and also featured Ohanian’s wife, tennis great Serena Williams, who shared a family moment alongside their two daughters, Olympia and Adira, before watching trackside.
Only the main stand was open for seating, but organisers had declared it a sell-out and the crowd at a glance did seem to skew young, including a gaggle of girls gathered along the red carpet, who screamed out the athletes’ names and squealed when they were granted autographs.
“I wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome, but it was fun,” said Hodgkinson. “My outfit (on the red carpet) was last minute, but for inspiration, I feel like it’s Liam Gallagher. I’m from Manchester, he’s from Manchester, I feel like I look like him.”
Hodgkinson was one of the athletes awarded a custom Tiffany crown for her triumph. Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas and 2023 world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson, who are also Athlos athlete owner-advisors, also won their respective events.
Ohanian hopes to expand Athlos to a league format and told the Press Association on Wednesday he hopes London will be “a fixture” on the tour.
In New York, which hosted the previous two editions, Athlos took over Times Square to stage a long jump.
“I think it would be really fun to use the landmarks around London,” said London native Hunter-Bell, who took home 35,000 USD for her second place.
“I think the pole vault would be really fun. I feel like they should pole vault over a London bus.”
