Keely Hodgkinson wins Athlos 800m in speed suit at StoneX Stadium
Keely Hodgkinson won the 800m at Athlos in London at StoneX Stadium on 18 September 2026, wearing a custom full-body speed suit and receiving a Tiffany & Co crown after the race. The 24-year-old finished in front of a sellout home crowd and celebrated on stage with the night's other winners.
Athlos staged its third edition and its first meeting outside New York as a single-night, all-female athletics event created by Alexis Ohanian. The programme featured seven disciplines with six athletes in each, a total event prize pot of $1.05m (£790,500) and a top prize of $65,000 (£48,500) for each discipline, with winners awarded a silver Tiffany crown instead of medals. Organisers presented the event as a blend of sport and entertainment, with athletes arriving on a red carpet and a live track-side DJ during competition.
Hodgkinson was greeted by loud cheers as she emerged onto the stage wearing an all-black, aerodynamic outfit that included an open back, a hood with a ponytail opening and colour-changing 3D-printed details designed to reduce drag. She teamed the suit with dark sunglasses and Nike's latest carbon-plated spikes and described the collaboration in full: "This is a project we have been working on with Nike for a long time. We thought: What a perfect place to bring it out, speed meeting style, all women's event. It went down a treat." The victory marked her first win since the London Diamond League in July.
On the track Hodgkinson burst clear on the back straight to dominate the 800m before crossing the finish and lifting the Tiffany crown. Her season had combined an indoor world 800m title and a 24-year indoor world record with setbacks after a nasty fall in July and a recurrence of a hamstring injury that had sidelined her for much of 2025. She improved her British record over the summer but finished second to Audrey Werro at both the European Championships and the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
Other event winners included Sha'Carri Richardson, who won the 100m in 10.80 seconds, and Gabby Thomas, who claimed the 200m in 22.13 seconds. Imani-Lara Lansiquot and Daryll Neita placed fourth and fifth respectively in the 100m with times of 11.35 and 11.36, while Marileidy Paulino overtook Henriette Jaeger to win the 400m in 48.73 seconds. Poland's Klaudia Kazimierska, the Diamond League champion, narrowly beat Hodgkinson's training partner Georgia Hunter Bell in the mile, recording 4 minutes 19.43 seconds, and the meet also produced wins for Alaysha Johnson in the 100m hurdles and Alyssa Jones in the long jump.
Athlos combined a celebrity presence with its sporting programme: Alexis Ohanian watched trackside alongside Serena Williams and their children, and the arena atmosphere was deliberately theatrical. Ohanian said he wanted the event to put the attention back on the "actual athletes" after recent controversy involving a sports betting company advertisement, and the league offered athletes the opportunity to take equity in Athlos as part of its business model. Several competitors commented they enjoyed the spotlight and the fashion elements integrated into the meet.
Plans for Athlos have shifted following the season: a New York meeting scheduled for 2 October was cancelled after consultation with athletes, and there were late withdrawals including American Masai Russell following last week's World Athletics Ultimate Championship. Ohanian, who set up Angel City FC after leaving Reddit and bought a 10% stake in Chelsea in 2025, has said he hopes to align Athlos within the global athletics calendar from next year and has identified the 2028 edition around the Los Angeles Olympics as a possible opportunity to expand the event's format.
Keely Hodgkinson will aim to win her first world outdoor title in 2027. Athlos organisers now plan to pursue calendar alignment with global athletics from next year.
