What does being the fastest man in the world get you? Besides a gold medal and bragging rights, sprinter Noah Lyles hopes the distinction comes with a signature sneaker.
“I want my own shoe. I want my own trainer. I’m dead serious,” said Lyles after his victory Sunday in the men’s 100 meters at the Paris 2024 Olympics. “I want a sneaker, ain’t no money in [track]spikes. There’s money in sneakers and even Michael Johnson didn’t have his own sneaker. I feel like for how many medals [track athletes]bring back, for all the notoriety [track athletes]get, the fact that that hasn’t happened yet is crazy to me.”
It’s a point of order, but Johnson got a signature sneaker, the Nike Zoom JST, in 1998. The shoe didn’t sell particularly well, and that might be part of a more significant hurdle that even the best track star might find too high. Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man ever, also received the signature treatment during his track career. In June 2012, Bolt’s longtime endorser, Puma, released the evoSpeed Runner Usain Bolt ahead of the London Olympics, where he won gold in the 100-meter final with a still-standing record time of 9.63 seconds. Puma also delivered the signature Bolt evoSpeed cleat, which he wore in his final Olympics appearance in 2016.
For all the well-deserved notoriety people such as Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce bring to their sport every four years, it’s still just every four years. Track and field remains a niche sport that airs on television in spots not quite ready for prime time. The sport isn’t seeing the commas the NBA and WNBA just saw in their landmark broadcast deals. Occupying that more minor part of the media landscape means less recognizable faces. The unfortunate reality is that runners stay in the limelight when their names appear in a scandal. And that’s even if they have a couple of medals to their name. While Lyles’ point about track competitors facing world-class competition is valid, along with his beliefs about their athletic ability, those facts alone don’t move the needle much.
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It’s easy to understand why Lyles wants this for himself and, more importantly, for the sport he loves. Even without squinting, it’s not impossible to see his vision. The Virginia native ruffled a few feathers at the world championships in 2023 when he compared track and the NBA, questioning the legitimacy of the league calling itself “world champions.” While the comments went viral, the context of his words fell on deaf ears. Lyles made a more significant point about attracting attention to the sport. Winning medals is his first, second, and third goal. Still, he never stopped thinking about how to leverage that success for a larger platform.
“After you get the medals, more and more people gain interest. You can go into fashion, you can go into music. You can start collaborating with people and start meeting bigger and better athletes. From athletes, you go to artists and from artists, you go to the world. And now you have connections,” Lyles said.
Lyles makes those connections by transforming himself into an undeniable brand. Skills alone no longer pay the bills. But combining one’s ability with a gift of gab and a flair for the dramatic usually equals set for life. And Lyles is halfway there.
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Similarly to Richardson, Felix, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and track legends such as sprinters Usain Bolt, Gail Devers, and Florence Griffith Joyner, the world’s fastest man stands out. Lyles wore a striking pair of Adidas Adizero Y-3 spikes created by Paris-based Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. He runs in chain-link necklaces covered in diamonds. The man also rocks a Speedmaster watch by Omega, the official timekeeper of the Olympics, and Lyles is a brand ambassador. Anyone can call themselves an icon, but few have the confidence to paint different designs and messages on their nails like the Alexandria, Virginia, native did for the Olympics. To Lyles’ point about making connections, retired NBA guard Dwyane Wade noticed the nails and gave the gold medalist his props, as did NBA legend Magic Johnson. Besides Johnson’s humble brag about watching the Olympics on a yacht, these looks can ensure Lyles’ name rings bells in places that matter. It helps that he has the personality to match the jewelry and colorful digits.
He calls his shots and basks in the spotlight whenever it comes his way, especially if he can use it to his advantage. It didn’t bother him when NBA players attacked him for those comments in 2023. For Lyles, the fact that they responded was a testament to his status.
“When I got the title of world’s fastest man, now all of a sudden people perk up their ears like, ‘The world’s fastest man said that? I can’t believe you would say something like that,’ ” Lyles said.
Noah Lyles of Team United States celebrates after winning the 100-meter final on Day 9 of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France on Aug. 4 in Paris. Lyles wore Adidas Adizero Y-3 spikes.
MacNicol/Getty Images
Even Bolt, the man Lyles wants to overtake in the record books, said the 27-year-old’s personality and attitude are exactly what the sport needs. That same charisma Bolt sees is one reason Lyles is featured in the Netflix docuseries Sprint and is the subject of the upcoming Peacock series Untitled: The Noah Lyles Project. If success is about preparation, opportunity, and timing, the stars look aligned for Lyles, who has an endorsement deal with Adidas.
Convincing Adidas to give him his patented sneaker is still easier said than done. A signature shoe deal usually pays the athlete 5% or 6% royalty sales of every shoe. The number of shoes sold should be enough to justify the millions invested in the athlete and help the company’s bottom line. Suppose the typical deal pays a base salary between $5 million and $15 million annually and comes with a 5% royalty check for every shoe sold. In that case, that’s an enormous bet that the company and the star must work in their favor. NBA players are on TV screens almost every night from October to June. Even if it’s a game that does not feature someone with branded kicks, there’s a good chance another player will wear a pair, given the relationship multiple players have with Nike, Adidas, and Under Armor. Lyles would need more close moments with audiences more often and find enough running buddies in and outside his sport willing to put his name on their feet.
It’s a long shot, but what else is new for the man who earned America’s first gold medal in the 100-meter dash in 20 years? Lyles is an asthmatic who runs faster than any man on the planet. He has attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, depression and anxiety. He wears those ailments as proudly as his love of Dragon Ball Z and Yu Gi Oh! It’s easy for observers to side-eye his demand for his branded kicks. All it takes is one person and one moment to change everything. Lyles understands social media, wears his emotions on his sleeves, shows off with the best of them, and ensures all eyes stay on him.
To paraphrase one of his recent posts on X, why not him?
Marcus Shorter is a communications professional and writer. When he’s not scribbling thoughts for Consequence, Cageside Seats or Bloody Disgusting, he’s getting extra nerdy about rap lyrics, politics, poetry and comic books.
