Noah Lyles has never shied away from making bold statements, often intertwining them with his savvy marketing strategies. After winning his maiden Olympic gold in the men’s 100m event, Lyles was clear about his expectations. In the post-match conversation, the athlete went on to say, “I want my own trainer. Dead serious. I want a sneaker. Ain’t no money in spikes. There’s money in sneakers and even Michael Johnson didn’t have his own sneaker.” A little scratching on the head would help in guessing that Lyles was pressing his sponsor Adidas to release his signature sneakers. However, the German brand has yet to fulfill his request. But in the meantime, Noah has come out with another reminder. 

Noah Lyles is making the most of his holidays away from the track, but he’s also keeping his marketing game strong. Just like he did recently at Arthur Ashe Stadium during the men’s US Open final. The sprinter had been present there to witness the men’s US Open final. While enjoying the match, Lyles ran into American tennis legend Stan Smith, the man behind the iconic Adidas Stan Smith sneakers, known for their classic green and white design. Seizing the opportunity for a clever quip, Lyles shared a photo of himself with Smith on X (formerly Twitter), captioning it humorously: “Finally found the man on all my shoes The great Stan Smith.” Notably, among the tennis players, the Adidas Stan Smith sneakers are obsolete now. But for retro fashion lovers, the sneakers still create waves of popularity. In fact, the signature series of Adidas Stan sneakers started in 1965, a lot before the popularity of the marketing strategy. 

Yet now, signature sneakers have become common among certain sports. Even, in some cases, several celebrities have multiple signature sneakers while their laurels or career length may not stand alongside Noah’s. The examples are Bad Bunny and Travis Scott. The latest in that series, Bad Bunny x Adidas Gazelle Indoor ‘San Juan’ made quite a headline in June this year. Even so, Noah Lyles has not seen any significant changes in his demand. Although at the Paris Olympics, his shoe sponsor, Adidas, gained a marketing upper hand, and much of its credit went to the athlete’s performance there. 

A month ago, the track and field world took a backseat when Noah Lyles powered to victory in the marquee event—the men’s 100m final at the Paris Olympics. He claimed the victory from his archrival Kishane Thompson by just five thousandths of a second. Later, he came back in his trademark 200m event. Subsequently, he took the bronze medal despite having a severe infection in his lungs because of COVID-19. Both times he appeared in the Stade de France wearing Adidas Y-3 spikes. Therefore, the brand was expected to see floods in the marketing part. But it didn’t reflect in the brand’s viewpoint on Noah’s demand. 

In February this year, Noah Lyles signed one of the biggest contracts in track and field sports. Since Usain Bolt’s signing with Puma, no deal has come closer to that sum that has been guaranteed to Lyles because of the contract extension with Adidas. The relationship between these two will continue until 2028. So is there any chance for the sprinter to get success in having signature sneakers? However, the ongoing situation has caused a lot of heat. 

Noah Lyles’s absence in a ceremony puts him in hot water 

Last year, Minnesota Timberwolves’ star Anthony Edwards received his signature shoes from Adidas. However, Noah Lyles had the invitation to attend the event. But he didn’t show up. The reason for absence was not clear until June this year. In his exclusive interview with Sean Gregory of Time, Lyles narrated the reason in length. 

He laid out, “You want to do what? You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? In a sport that you don’t even care about? And you’re giving him a shoe? No disrespect: the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. All I’m asking is, ‘How could you not see that for me?'” Now, after the Paris Olympics, ‘Ant’ has also won an Olympic gold, being part of the basketball-winning American squad. Did that make Noah move away from his statement? 

After the Paris Olympics, he congratulated Edwards for the victory, counting him the deserving candidate to own the accomplishments. That stood to be a rare moment for the athlete to ignore his previous statement in a face-saving approach. But now, Noah Lyles’s latest X-post shows he is still adamant in his demand.