"Not until they pay her what she's worth"-Alexis Ohanian opens Serena Williams' reaction on question about daughter Olympia making it to national tier

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Oct 05, 2024 03:08 GMT

Athlos NYC founder and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian recently opened up on the purpose of Athlos NYC meet and his further vision for the same. The co-founder of Reddit recently uploaded an excerpt of his interview with NBC news on the social media accounts of Athlos NYC.

In the video posted on Athlos NYC's X account [formerly Twitter], the interviewer asked Ohanian if he actually said that his daughter wouldn't enter women's sports, if she didn't earn her worth.

To this, the American entrepreneur replied,

"Yeah, well credit to Serena. I was like, 'Hey, you know, Serena, wouldn't it be nice one day if one day Olympia played on the national tier', and without missing a beat, Serena was like, 'Not until they pay her what she's worth', and I'm like, 'Challenge accepted'. " [1:36 onwards]

Ohanian also mentioned the tennis legend's reaction to his idea of a women's-only track league.

"When I pitched her on Athlos, it was an insta-yes. And she was like, 'This is a great idea, I see it. You've got to do it," the Reddit co-founder said.

Initially labelled as '776 Invitational', Alexis Ohanian's initiative was later renamed Athlos, with the inaugural meet held at New York City's Icahn Stadium on September 26. 36 female athletes from all over the world took part in six events, viz. the 100m, the 200m, the 400m, the 800m, the 1500m and the 100m hurdles events.

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Alexis Ohanian on his daughter getting into women's sports

Alexis Ohanian with daughter Olympia at the Athlos NYC 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Alexis Ohanian has been extremely supportive of women's sports. He also wishes for his daughters, Olympia and Adira to prove their worth before they join any sporting event in the future.

Not many know that both of Ohanian's daughters have a stake in his women's football club. In June 2023, Ohanian took to Instagram to announce his daughter's ownership in the Angel City Football Club, as he wrote,

"Announcing my fellow co-owner of @wearelagc... @olympiaohanian! Olympia is the youngest owner in professional sports (@weareangelcity) and is now the youngest 2-team owner in professional sports. She'll be joined by her future sibling."

More recently, when someone commented about Olympia's physique being similar to that of her mother on one of her photos on Instagram, a beaming Ohanian wrote, 'Thankfully'. During a podcast session with Justin Gatlin, he also joked about how his daughter should not imbibe any of his athletic qualities. In his words,

"A 41-year-old out-of-shape dad sprinting 100m, no one wants that. I gotta think of the legacy I leave behind for my little girls. And I don’t know if they need to see that on tape.”

Interestingly, Alexis Ohanian was also accompanied by his daughter Olympia at the Athlos NYC, where she took part in a race just after the 200m event.

"Amazing shot at the @ATHLOS finish-line by @jeffcohenphoto! See if you can spot @olympiaohanian 🥺 Looks like a Core Memory," Ohanian posted on X (formerly Twitter).

However, Ohanian has been firm on the fact that unless Olympia proves her worth, as desired by her mother Serena Williams, she won't be taking part in the women's sports. The entrepreneur is also aiming to make Athlos NYC more inclusive by adding field events from subsequent editions.