“She’s a symbol of resilience and strength, someone who’s been through the fire and come out stronger. Athlos may have passed on her, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that she embodies everything athletes stand for: grit, perseverance, and never giving up, no matter what.” These were the words of Alexis Ohanian back in October 2024 for Sha’Carri Richardson. Then, she did not participate in his league, ATHLOS. And a year later, she’s been officially named a headline athlete and founding advisor-owner for ATHLOS 2025.
Now, Richardson has also sent a 7-Word Message for Alexis.
June 12, 2025. Reddit’s former co-founder and Serena Williams’s husband, Alexis Ohanian, is celebrating his birthday. And how would his very own league, ATHLOS, miss an opportunity to wish him? The League took to their Instagram, posting a picture of the man with his daughter in his arms, and another one where he could be seen alongside Gabby Thomas. The last one had him doing a namaste sign. “Happy birthday to our founder @alexisohanian! To a bigger and better 2025 ,” the post said. And Sha’Carri Richardson wished him just to warm our hearts a little more…
Usually, on birthdays, you are the one saying thank you, not receiving one. But Richardson turned it around for the Chelsea football club shareholder. Taking the ATHLOS Instagram post to her story, she wrote, “@alexisohanian Thank You for believing in Women Sports.”
Well, Ohanian has done a lot for women’s sports. Taking track and field into context, the very league he founded, ATHLOS, is a women-only meet. In 2024, it featured 36 elite female athletes and paid record prize money totaling over $500,000, with $60,000 awarded to each event winner.
After the success of its inaugural event, ATHLOS is all set to debut a team-based track and field league in 2026, with Olympic gold medalists Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, and Tara Davis-Woodhall on board as founding adviser-owners. Richardson herself is going to don the sprinting gear for the 2025 season of the meet.
Credits-Instagram/Sha’Carri RIchardson
Just to give you a little context of how Ohanian is making it for women’s sports, in May 2025, he acquired a 10% stake in Chelsea Women’s Football Club for approximately £20 million.
And while all of this unfolds, major news has come out from the Grand Slam Track camps.
Grand Slam Track concludes on an abrupt note
“The decision to conclude the inaugural Grand Slam Track season is not taken lightly, but one rooted in a belief that we have successfully achieved the objectives we set out to in this pilot season, and the importance of looking towards 2026 and beyond,” shared Michael Johnson, Founder and Commissioner of Grand Slam Track. The highly anticipated final meet of the inaugural Grand Slam Track (GST) season, originally scheduled for June 27–29, 2025, in Los Angeles, has been officially canceled.
The event was set to take place at UCLA’s Drake Stadium and would have marked the fourth and final leg of the series, following stops in Kingston, Miami, and Philadelphia. Organizers cited financial and operational challenges. On the Grand Slam Track website, Johnson’s official statement says, “The global economic landscape has shifted dramatically in the past year, and this business decision has been made to ensure our long-term stability as the world’s premier track league.”
“Our attention is now on 2026, with our eyes set on continuing to deliver the best-in-class storytelling, content, and competition that we have become known for in our debut year,” continued Johnson. Kenny Bednarek & Melissa Jefferson-Wooden were crowned the inaugural Racers of the Year.
Well, fans who had booked the tickets for LA have been promised refunds. But it was definitely a heartbreak. How do you feel?
The post Sha’Carri Richardson Drops 7-Word Message for ATHLOS Founder Amid Grand Slam Track Fallout appeared first on EssentiallySports.
