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Sanya Richards-Ross, Justin Gatlin, and Mikaela Shiffrin reacted to Tara Davis-Woodhall's performance as the women's long jump took center stage for Athlos in the heart of a bustling Times Square. Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, who launched Athlos, introduced the initiative not only to elevate the biggest stars in sports but also to add entertainment value.
Tara Davis-Woodhall, the reigning Olympic champion in the long jump, has been a force to be reckoned with in 2025 as well. She won the title at the Prefontaine Classic, improved the world lead mark at the USATF Championships, and leapt 7.13m to bag her first World title in Tokyo, Japan.
In the second edition of Athlos, the 26-year-old participated in a unique event under the New York lights in Times Square, one of the most happening tourist destinations. She leaped in front of a packed crowd and was cheered on by the spectators after her stellar performance.
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The 26-year-old's dream-come-true moment garnered reactions from the legendary athletes like Mikaela Shiffrin, Justin Gatlin, and Sanya Richards-Ross. The most decorated alpine skier, Shiffrin, highly impressed by the move, commented:
"This is soooo cool"
Sanya Richards-Ross, the former 400m specialist with multiple World and Olympic titles under her belt, joined forces with a couple of fire emojis.
Former sprinter and podcaster Justin Gatlin also noted that the venue was packed with people when the event took place.
"It's Packeddd"
Athlos NYC will take place at Icahn Stadium on October 10, 2025, featuring Olympic and world champions competing for a prize six times that of the Diamond League and a bonus of $250,000 for any world records.
Tara Davis-Woodhall revealed how it was always her dream to have her face on the Times Square billboards
Tara Davis-Woodhall broke into the upper echelon of women's athletes with her gold medal-winning performance at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. She followed it up with her title-winning performance at the Paris Games and continued the momentum in 2025. She was slated to make her Athlos debut in the second edition of the event, but she also experienced a full-circle moment, delivering a show-stopping long jump performance in Times Square.
She expressed that it had been her teenage dream to see herself on one of the billboards, and now that it has happened, it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.
“I’ve be coming to New York since I was 16 years old and the first time I ever stepped in Times Square, I was like, ‘I want my face on the billboards.’ To have a full-circle moment of when I was just a kid dreaming of this moment, it’s pretty surreal and kind of emotional.” (via AP News)
Tara Davis-Woodhall has been serving as the assistant coach of the track and field team at Kansas State University.
