20 cm racetrack, two samples & one microscopic finish line: Inside the world's first sperm race to be held in the US

Move over F1 and the Olympics..this year, the most unexpected race on Earth is happening not on wheels or feet, but under a microscope.

Yes, you read that right. Los Angeles is set to host the world’s first live sperm race, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. A custom-designed racetrack, thousands of spectators and two wriggling sperm samples going head-to-head (or tail-to-tail?) in a 20-centimetre sprint for microscopic glory.

The event is being put together by Sperm Racing, a startup founded and run by teenagers, and it’s all set to unfold at the Hollywood Palladium on April 25. The goal? In their words: “We’re turning health into a sport.”

Sounds bizarre? Maybe. But there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye. Here’s everything you need to know about the world’s first sperm race.

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What will the race look like?

The race will take place on specially designed tracks built to mimic the female reproductive system, complete with fluid dynamics, chemical signals, and a synchronised start. And yes, it will all happen live, in front of a crowd of around 4,000 people.

Thanks to high-definition imaging, spectators won’t miss a moment. The action will be broadcast on big screens, with “play-by-play” commentary, stats, and even instant replays, just like any major sports event.

“We’ve created the world’s smallest racetrack,” the company’s manifesto reads. “And yeah, it’s exactly as wild as it sounds.”

So what exactly is racing? Two microscopic sperm cells—each about 0.05 millimetres long—will be released onto a 20 cm track, roughly two-thirds the length of a regular ruler. The design of the track will mirror the journey sperm take inside the female body.

It will be a head-to-head race, with the fastest swimmer taking the win. Sperm usually move at around 5 millimetres per minute, and if they swim in a fairly straight line, the race could wrap up in about 40 minutes.

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For context, the average ejaculation contains somewhere between 40 and 300 million sperm, with around 200 million being typical. But in this race, it only takes one to win.

The idea has already raised over $1 million in funding, with backers including Karatage, Figment Capital, along prominent members of the biohacking community. And yes, there will be betting. Viewers can cheer on their chosen competitor and follow their sperm to the finish line.

Ready, Set…Swim?

Sperm race to raise awareness on ‘male fertility’

While the idea might come across as playful or even a bit absurd at first glance, the team behind it has a much deeper message in mind.

At the heart of all the spectacle is a serious issue: the alarming drop in male fertility.

A 2022 study published in the Human Reproduction Update journal revealed that sperm counts in men have plummeted by more than 50 per cent over the last five decades.

“We’re taking a topic no one wants to touch and making it interesting, measurable and weirdly changing this paradigm,” said Eric Zhu, the 17-year-old co-founder of Sperm Racing, in the event’s manifesto.

Roughly 7 per cent of adult men face infertility issues—often linked to low sperm count, poor motility, or blockages. What’s more troubling is that in nearly half of these cases, the exact cause remains unknown. Still, research points to certain lifestyle factors—like smoking, alcohol use, sleep patterns, and overall fitness—as key influences on sperm health.

Also read: How sperms could hold the answer to how long a man lives

“Male fertility is declining … a lot,” Zhu added. “It’s happening quietly, steadily, and nobody’s really talking about it. And sperm motility—how fast your sperm moves—turns out to be a massive factor in fertility.”

That’s exactly what the Sperm Racing team wants to change. “If you can train for sports—spend hours perfecting your form, pushing your body—then why can’t you train your health too?” they ask. “Why can’t you measure it, improve it, compete in it?”

With input from agencies