Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian is determined to take women’s sports to heights previously unattained. After his extensive efforts to make women’s soccer an extravagant affair in the US, Serena Williams’ husband now has plans to make track and field his next endeavor. The recently announced 776 Invitational has already secured over $30 million from investors, and it looks like Ohanian has found another face from Great Britain for his ambitious project.
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In his latest post on X, Ohanian gave a sneak peek into the new name who will be joining the ranks at the 776 Invitational after the Paris Olympics. His post tagged British runner Annie Tagoe, who won a 4x100m relay bronze at the World Championships in Budapest last year.
The IMG model made her first global presence in 2010 at the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore, in which she won bronze in the medley relay. Her silver medal at the 2013 European U23 Championships makes her a perfect addition to the elite list of athletes set to compete in the inaugural edition of Ohanian’s tournament.
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Since the inception of the 776 Invitational, 2023 World Championships gold medalist Gabby Thomas has already been working alongside Alexis. But Thomas and Tagoe aren’t the only ones who could make the 776 an affair to remember.
🏃🏿♀️ @AnnieTagoe pic.twitter.com/q3bwqVASAh
— Alexis Ohanian 🇦🇲 (@alexisohanian) May 10, 2024
With the addition of Annie Tagoe, track fans are waiting for confirmation of Sha’Carri Richardson and Julien Alfred’s addition to the September event. Richardson is also a staunch advocate of gender quality in sports. “Our voices are very important to make everybody understand that women are strong and powerful,” stated Richardson after partnering up with Danone.
Big dreams fuel Alexis Ohanian’s ambitions
A couple of days ago, heady rumors took over the country’s track and field community as speculations about seeing Sha’Carri Richardson at Ohanian’s event rattled heads everywhere. While the world’s fastest woman was not explicitly mentioned in an Instagram post shared by Alexis on Instagram, the accompanying video clip featured Sha’Carri heavily. This made many fans deduce that the 2023 World Championships gold medalist might just take to the tracks in September alongside Gabby. However, Ohanian and the 776 have ambitions beyond simply organizing another fast-paced tournament.
Both Ohanian and his wife Serena are staunch advocates of the movement to ensure equal pay for male and female athletes. The 23-time Grand Slam champion’s voice is only amplified through the platform that her husband helped to curate. The 776 Invitational, which boasts 6 times the payout of Diamond League, will present a sum of $60,000 to the winners of the women-only track event. Second-place finishers will be awarded $25,000, while a third-place finish will come with a $10,000 prize. With the tournament, Ohanian looks to increase the average payment that women athletes around the world currently receive and strive to match it with their male counterparts’ award money.
Now, it waits to be seen if the dazzling dame Tagoe and Sha’Carri can help elevate their female colleagues’ conditions while also delivering titillating action in the month after the Paris Olympics end.
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Edited by
Bhujaya Ray Chowdhury