Watch Spotting: The Biggest Moments (And Watches) Of The Paris 2024 Olympic Games So Far
This year, I’m all in on the Olympics. On Monday, we ran a story about how Omega captured the photo finish of the men’s 100m finals. It was a massive moment in Olympic history – one of the closest finishes ever. But I’ve been obsessively watching every sport I have time for, from swimming and athletics to surfing in Tahiti and fencing. It’s just that time of the year. But of course, I can’t stop looking at the watches.
The Men’s 100m final photo finish. Lyles and Thompson recorded the exact same finishing time, but Omega’s photo finish camera was able to split the sprinters and show that Lyles took the gold medal. The red line is what officials used to judge finishing order. Image: courtesy Omega
If there’s one type of brand ambassador I can get behind more than any other, it’s Olympic athletes. Sure, some are mega stars, but some are just trying to get enough money to make it through training and to the biggest venue of their careers. It seems like each Olympics, more and more watch brands are getting on board with sponsoring some of the world’s most talented athletes, and Paris 2024 is no exception. Even more surprising to me is how many athletes are wearing watches while competing.
Noah Lyles and Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8 “Dark Side of the Moon.”
This is officially Omega’s Olympics. If you want to sponsor the Olympics but can’t keep up with all the timing necessary, well, tough luck. But that’s not a problem for Omega. None of the world records or photo finishes would be possible without the athletes, but they also wouldn’t be official without Omega’s timekeeping capabilities. And speaking of photo finishes, how about that 100m men’s final? It was 9.784 seconds of pure nail-biting excitement.
I’ve been carefully tracking every athlete (past and present) I’ve seen with a watch, plus every celebrity watch-spotting opportunity I could find, though there are many more I didn’t include. Since most athletes still don’t wear a watch while competing (like Casper Ruud, who was wearing a Fleming prototype in tantalum this week), there are plenty of great watches getting left out. But let’s start with the wrists of the 100m finals, beginning with the gold medal winner, U.S.A.’s Noah Lyles.
Noah Lyles, U.S.A. – Track & Field: Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8 ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ And Omega Constellation 39mm In Yellow Gold
Noah Lyles psyching himself up before the 100m men’s finals.
Noah Lyles of the United States speaks during a Team USA Track & Field press conference on day three of the Olympic Games.
Fred Kerley, U.S.A. – Track & Field: TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Titanium
Fred Kerley of Team United States reacts during the Men’s 100m Final on day nine of the Olympic Games.
Akani Simbine, South Africa – Track & Field: Richard Mille RM67-02 ‘Sprint’
Akani Simbine in the 100m semifinal. He would come in fourth in the final.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica – Track & Field: Richard Mille RM07-04
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Team Jamaica reacts during the Women’s 100m Round 1 Heat 6 on day seven of the Olympic Games.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Ukraine – High Jump: Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m ‘Ultra Light’
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Team Ukraine competes during the Women’s High Jump Qualification on day seven of the Olympic Games.
Armand Duplantis, Sweden – Pole Vault: Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m Ultra Light ‘Mondo Duplantis’
We covered this new watch yesterday, so for more information you can check out that story. Photo courtesy Omega.
A Break, Off The Field
Alright, well now that we’ve tackled a bit of track and field, I want to take a break from the action to cover some watches worn by retired athletes, athletes away from the field of play, and some celebrity watch spotting of note that happened at the games. If you’re just here for the watches on the Olympians, no worries, there’s more of that soon.
Thierry Henry, France – Retired Footballer: Patek Philippe Nautilus x Virgil Abloh x MAD Paris Nautilus Ref. 5726A
Thierry Henry, French Footballer and first bearer of the flame carries the Olympic Torch on July 14, 2024, in Paris.
LeBron James, U.S.A. – Basketball: Cartier Crash Skeleton In Pink Gold
LeBron James attends The Prelude To The Olympics on July 25, 2024, in Paris.
Jayson Tatum, U.S.A. – Basketball: Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph, Ref. 26399NR
Jayson Tatum attends The Prelude To The Olympics at Fondation Louis Vuitton.
Steph Curry, U.S.A. – Basketball: Rolex Day-Date Ref. 228238
Steph was also spotted wearing the Cartier Santos with blue dial, bezel, and strap (ref. CRWSSA0048) at the opening ceremony.
Tom Cruise – Actor: Rolex Day-Date In Platinum With Meteorite Dial And Diamond Indices, Ref. 228236
Pharrell Williams – Artist, Rapper, Producer, And Louis Vuitton Men’s Creative Director: Richard Mille UP-01 Ferrari
Serena Williams – Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist: Audemars Piguet Double Balance Openworked ‘Salmon’ Ref. 15407ST
Shaun White – Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist: Omega Speedmaster Professional In Moonshine Gold
Vincent Cassel – Actor: Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 ‘Starwheel’
Anthony Davis, U.S.A. – Basketball: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph Ref. 26421OR
LeBron James (Again), U.S.A. – Basketball: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon In Pink Gold With Sapphire Bezel And Indices, Ref. 26521OR
Michael Phelps, U.S.A. – Most Decorated Olympian Of All-Time: Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Chronograph GMT 231.50.44.52.06.001
Michael Phelps (right, not wearing ear muffs) celebrates the gold medals of Team United States during the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Team Final on day four of the Olympic Games.
Tyrese Haliburton, U.S.A. – Basketball: Cartier Pebble
Tyrese Haliburton attends the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s All-Around Final on day six of the Olympic Game.
Lewis Hamilton – Formula 1 Legend: Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5740
Lewis Hamilton hugs Miles Chamley-Watson of Team United States during the Men’s Foil Team semifinal between Team Italy and Team United States on day nine of the Olympic Games. Hamilton apparently takes “summer break” from Formula 1 literally, not wearing a sponsor’s watch.
President Emmanuel Macron, France: Merci LMM-01
President of France Emmanuel Macron congratulates Teddy Riner of France after his gold medal victory during the Judo event on day seven of the Olympic Games.
Tony Parker, France – Basketball (Retired): Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 (Two-Tone)
Tony Parker congratulates Teddy Riner of France after his gold medal victory during the Judo event.
Back In The Action (And Medal Ceremonies)
Miles Chamley-Watson, U.S.A. – Fencing: Richard Mille RM 65-01 Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph In Yellow Quartz TPT
Miles Chamley-Watson of Team United States (L) competes against Maximilien Chastanet of Team France (R) during the Fencing Men’s Foil Team Bronze Medal match on day nine of the Olympic Games.
Tommy Fleetwood, Great Britain – Golf: TAG Heuer Connected Golf
Tommy Fleetwood of Team Great Britain fist bumps his caddie, Ian Finnis on the 12th green during Day Four of the Men’s Individual Stroke Play on day nine of the Olympic Games
Pauline Ferrand Prevot, France – Mountain Biking: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Cycling Mountain Bike Gold Medalist Pauline Ferrand Prevot of Team France speaks at Champions Park on day three of the Olympic Games.
Tommy Paul, U.S.A. – Men’s Tennis: De Bethune DB28xs Starry Seas
Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul of the United States against Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic in the Men’s Doubles Bronze Medal match on day eight of the Olympic Games.
Matthew Ebden, Australia – Men’s Tennis: Norqain Wild One Skeleton
Gold medalists Matthew Ebden (R) and John Peers of Team Australia pose for a photo after the Tennis Men’s Doubles medal ceremony of the Tennis Men’s Doubles matches
Leon Marchand, France – Swimming: Omega Chronoscope Ref. 329.30.43.51.02.002
Gold Medalist Leon Marchand of Team France stands on the podium during the Swimming medal ceremony after the Men’s 200m Individual Medley Final.
Tomas Machac, Czech Republic – Tennis: Chronoswiss ReSec Helium
Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic celebrate their gold medal victory during the Tennis Mixed Final on day seven of the Olympic Games.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, Canada – Tennis: TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph
Bronze medalists Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Team Canada stand on the podium during the Tennis Mixed Doubles medal ceremony.
Qinwen Zheng, China – Tennis: Rolex Lady Datejust 31mm Two-Tone Everose With Rosé Dial With Diamond Indices And Diamond Bezel
Gold medalist Qinwen Zheng of China celebrates on the podium during the Tennis Women’s Singles medal ceremony. I’m taking a bit of a guess here with her watch, but this is one she was seen wearing in 2023 as well.
Carlos Hank Guerreiro, Mexico – Equestrian: Richard Mille RM055 ‘Bubba Watson’
Rafael Nadal, Spain – Tennis: Richard Mille RM27-05 Flying Tourbillon
The King of Clay didn’t get as far as he hoped in his final solo appearance (for now) at Roland Garros, but he did wear a crazy watch while there.
Carlos Alcaraz, Spain – Tennis: Rolex Day-Date 40 In Yellow Gold With Black Dial And Diamond Indices Ref. 228238
Silver Medallist Carlos Alcaraz of Team Spain poses on the podium during the Tennis Men’s Singles medal ceremony after the Tennis Men’s Singles Gold medal match on day nine of the Olympic Games.
Kauli Vaast, France – Surfing: G-SHOCK DW6900BB-1
Gold medalist Kauli Vaast of Team France reacts as he exits a wave during the men’s gold medal match of surfing on day nine of the Olympic Games. I had to check against other photos to see his watch, but this was too good of an image not to share.
Johanne Defay, France – Surfing: Breitling SuperOcean 36mm
One of my personal favorite Olympians, Johanne Defay carrying her country’s flag in the opening ceremony held in Tahiti where surfing is taking place at the Teahupo’o break. Defay would take home the bronze medal.
Novak Djokovic, Serbia – Tennis: Big Bang Meca-10 Ceramic Blue 45 mm
Winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia presents his gold medal and celebrates while victory ceremony after men’s single final on day nine of the Olympic Games.
All photos: Getty Images
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