If Noah Lyles Gets His Sneaker, He'll Have Big Shoes to Fill
This past Sunday, August 4, Noah Lyles was officially crowned the world's fastest man. The 27-year-old scored Gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, in the men's 100 meter sprint category. After such victory, what's next for Noah Lyles? Sneakers, apparently.
That's right. The track and field champion said in a post-win interview that he wants his sponsor adidas to grant him a chance at designing his own signature shoe line. Not spikes though, he's specified: "I want a sneaker. Ain't no money in spikes. There's money in sneakers."
Sports and sportswear endorsements go together like bread and butter, and have done so long before Noah Lyles was even alive. Not for sneakers, per se, but athletes of various disciplines have collaborated with brands for decades, birthing some of the most iconic footwear known to mankind in the process – favorites of which we sifted through StockX's extensive repertoire for to revisit.
Will Noah Lyles' sneakers come into fruition any time soon? Unclear. Clearer, however, is that he's already extended his contract with adidas, in a deal said to be the juiciest of its kind since Usain Bolt's PUMA partnership.
God knows he'd have the taste to pull it off, though – so, here's to hoping!
Noah Lyles' sneakers would follow in the footsteps of Greats
Michael Jordan
For basketball, the OG won Gold in 1984 and 1992. Amongst the various shoes to come out of his affiliation with Nike, this most recent Air Jordan 4 was inspired by this year's host, Paris.
Serena Williams
Tennis legend Serena Williams was awarded Olympic Gold on three different occasions, spanning twelve years of her career. Her Court Flares come with a unique, stability-affording ankle strap.
Dwayne Wade
Together with Chinese sports equipment company Li-Ning, Gold and Bronze recipient Dwayne Wade conceived of these retro-futurist basketball kicks.
Roger Federer
In a sea of wildly extravagant collaborations, On and Roger Federer's minimalist tennis shoes are a breath of fresh air.
Kobe Bryant
The late, great Kobe Bryant won Gold in 2008's Beijing and 2012's London, respectively. To each, he wore versions of these namesake bad boys.
Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant, too, was on 2012's Gold-winning basketball team in London, and has continued on a streak of Olympic 1st places ever since. His KDs with Nike might bring good luck.
James Harden
Two's company, three's a crowd: James Harden was also on the team that won big in London, though his very own adidas collab wouldn't launch until 2016.
Paul George
Basketball pro Paul George scored Gold in Rio in 2016 – one of many reasons Nike honored him with a signature shoe design.
Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard is of the newer, younger gen of basketball's elite. Despite or because of this, he, too, has his own footwear line, the Dame collection, with adidas.
Coco Gauff
While Coco Gauff may have missed out on the podium this time around, the fashionable 20-year-old tennis prodigy's New Balance silhouette is a trophy in and of its own.
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