Nick Kenyon
Noah Lyles is set to be one of the big attractions at the Tokyo Olympics. Despite being only 23 years old, he already boasts a 100m personal best of 9.86 seconds, while last week, in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, Lyles ran the 200m in 19.74 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. The sprinter’s vocation makes particular sense considering how much he loves his Speedy. He recently appeared on a GQ video discussing the 10 things he can’t live without and brought not one, but two Omega Speedmasters to the show and tell.The two Speedys that he brought were the collector favourite?Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary and the Omega Speedmaster “White Side of the Moon” with diamond bezel and hour markers. Why these watches?Image: GQ Sports YouTube“[Omega] gave this to me after I won the World Championships, ’cause I asked for a diamond-encrusted watch,” Lyles explained, referring to his Omega Speedmaster “White Side of the Moon”. “I was like, all the cool people have it, all the rappers and the rich guys have it, I want one!”Image: GQ Sports YouTubeHis other Speedy, the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary piece, was meant to be given to him when he qualified for the 2020 Olympics and Omega had specially saved edition number 2020/6969. While the Games were postponed last year, Omega still gave him the watch, which Lyles one day plans on passing onto his childrenImage: GQ Sports YouTubeLyles also noted that Omega are the timing partner for the Olympic Games, making the watches even more special because, “they actually make the blocks that we start in”. It seem like a brand relationship made in marketing heaven, the Speedmasters made for the budding master of speed.
06.07.21