Hours before the world’s fastest runners sprint hundreds of meters, they were advised to walk very slowly for about 30 meters.
The walk-ins, organized by Noah Lyles, had a dress code.
Olympic and world medalist Lyles said ahead of the New York Grand Prix of the United States track and field event at Icahn Stadium on Randall Island on Saturday.
As one of the big names in the sport, Lyles is on a mission to add trucks to the list of sports that have turned an unremarkable walk to the locker room into a red carpet photo shoot.
The idea came to me last year while scrolling through Instagram after GQ magazine published the best outfits professional athletes wear to enter stadiums around the world.
“Why are there no track and field athletes here?” Lyles wondered.
“Obviously it’s not happening because we’re not doing it,” he said in response to his own question. “But why don’t we do it?”
His head works as fast as his feet. Surely he can do it. Former sprinter Maya Bruny was right there. In November 2022, she track and fithas become the equivalent of a popular sport on Instagram. league fitAccording to the site, it’s a place where “whoops and their lifestyles collide.”
The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on February 4th will be a testing ground. Lyles arrives on track He wore a “Men in Black” outfit, a collection of flame emojis from the world’s top runners on Instagram.sprinter Trayvon Bromell I came in wearing snakeskin pants.american olympic athlete Aleia Hobbes She appeared wearing Louis Vuitton sunglasses and a white down coat.
Lyles organized another walk-in at the Millrose Games in New York City a week later. Several athletes rejoined, and he answered many questions from those who were intrigued, if not intimidated by the idea.
“I had to explain to a lot of athletes what the idea was, but I thought it would be the easiest because everyone watches the NBA and the NFL,” he said. “But I think I’m the only one paying attention.”
By the time the Atlanta City Games hit in May, Lyles had become an event planner. He worked with the Tournament Director to arrange the location, ensure proper changing areas, guide the photographers to the location, and ensure that the vehicles (no team vans, just black cars) drop players off at the correct locations. I made it
Rinna Arby-Jackson Gaby ThomasFreddie Crittenden, Noah Williams, Anna Hall I put on my clothes and entered the venue It was clearly not for warm-ups.
“This is really good for the sport,” said the two-time Olympic medalist Thomas. “If anything can be done to support and promote athletics as a whole, I will always be there and do it.”
this month, diamond league event Hall, Joseph Farnbulle and Tara Davis-Woodhall followed in Florence, Italy. Both USATF and World Athletics, the U.S. governing body for sports, provide support.
So why is this happening now in a sport that has long sought attention, especially in years without the Olympics?
“It’s social media,” former sprinter Sanjay Ayer said at the New York Grand Prix on Saturday. He strode up to the VIP tent in an oversized Balenciaga raincoat, Balenciaga shoes and bucket hat. He said this wasn’t the case when he played for Jamaica in the early 2000s.
In fact, the crossover was seen on the Paris Fashion Week catwalk just days before the New York convention. Welsh Bonner We chose Ethiopian long-distance runners Yomif Kejelcha and Tamirat Tola as models for our Spring 2024 collection Marathon.
On Friday afternoon, Liles’ stylist, Kwasi Keshi, brought a few outfits to his hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Lyles quickly picked a who-won-war top, a green sweater with window-like holes all over the silhouette — because no one is bold enough to wear it, he said. He scoffed at his suggestion to wear a shirt underneath. “I train 365 days a year to have a body like this,” he said. “I don’t need a shirt.”
Lyles and his agent Mark Wetmore had already invited several athletes to walk-in at the New York Grand Prix. They expected big names in the sport to join them, including Christian Coleman, Sidney McLaughlin-LeBron, Asing Mu, Thomas and Devon Allen.
But hours before Saturday’s event, it was revealed that Lyles was the only player to do a 30-meter walk-in. The cause of the no-show was a trade-off between media obligations and scheduling.
Other players may have seen what happened when Lyles arrived and wished they had adjusted their schedules.
Around noon, a few men with walkie-talkies and earphones, with Styrofoam fingers and autograph-ready notepads, began to organize the ever-growing crowd of fans. “His estimated arrival time is 12:21,” one said to the other, and the two guards took turns.
Soon, a black SUV appeared next to an ice cream truck. Lyles stepped out of the car in Who’s War pants with palm trees and waves and Timberland boots. Dozens of fans stretched their necks for the best view and cheered at the sight of him. A camera records every step. Fans pressed pens and posters into his hands and jumped for joy when he signed autographs. He was so engulfed in admiration that he could not take a step forward.
A few hours later, Lyles won the 200m with a time of 19.83 seconds.
But at this moment he had already arrived. He was just trying to spread his sport together.
