Athlos plans on debuting long jump event in unique Times Square venue

The GIST: Athlos — the women’s track meet launched last year — is returning this fall with a clever plan to win over fans. Yesterday, the organization confirmed it will host a portion of its competition in the heart of Times Square. This is reminiscent of recent PLL and WLL strategy, illustrating how niche sports and upstart leagues are using unconventional gimmicks to hook viewers. Hits different.

The details: On October 9th, the competition’s long jumpers — including Olympian and influencer Tara Davis-Woodhall, Jasmine Moore, and Quanesha Burks — will participate in the event’s qualifying round in NYC’s Times Square.

• After the success of last year’s track events, Athlos added a field event (long jump) and is continually stacking its roster with Olympians ahead of its October 10th track meet at NYC’s Icahn Stadium. Billing itself as a cultural moment, last year’s event also drew crowds with a Megan Thee Stallion performance and is promising another popular musical guest for 2025.

The marketing: Athlos has already made it to Times Square through the more traditional route — advertising on its iconic digital billboards. The org paid for ads last year before and after the competition, and while costs typically range from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, these placements can nab 1.5M daily impressions.

• An estimated 330K pedestrians walk through Times Square daily, and while there’s plenty of IRL advertising — especially for the local and global entertainment scene — major sports events aren’t typically hosted there.

• The meet also gains crucial marketing by tapping Davis-Woodhall, an advisor-owner in the league who boasts nearly 2M Instagram followers across her personal and joint account with husband Hunter Woodhall. Davis-Woodhall joined Athlos founder Alexis Ohanian to announce the event on CBS Mornings yesterday.

Zooming out: After drawing over 3M viewers in year one, Athlos has an eye on expansion, adding its first-ever field event and planning to shift to a team-based league with multiple meets in 2026. And as the competition heats up, Athlos needs to make an even bigger splash in NYC this year — and this is a creative way to cram a first-of-its-kind event in front of Times Square’s constant crowds.

• Considering that 77% of experts consider experiential marketing to be far more effective than traditional digital media marketing, enticing new fans with a splashy qualifying event is expected to drive locals and tourists to the finals at nearby Randall’s Island. On your marks.