The Paris Olympics is currently the place to be to show up and show out, not just for the athletes, who, undeniably are the stars of the show, but it’s also been a great scene for watches. Yes, folks like Lewis Hamilton was all dressed up with a Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref 5740 Perpetual Calendar while watching a medal fencing match, and a Cartier Crash was spotted on the wrist of NBA player Tyrese Haliburton, all of which make for extremely fun watch spotting. But what we’ve loved seeing so far are high-performance timepieces, of which were designed to endure the rigorous demands of elite sports. Beyond function, they were also stylish, some of which complemented the athletes’ uniforms and added a touch of elegance to their performances leading them to glory.

Noah Lyles: Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8 “Dark Side of the Moon” 

In a thrilling conclusion to the 100m sprint at the Paris 2024 Olympics, USA sprinter Noah Lyles, AKA The Fastest Man in America, clinched victory by a literal photo finish over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. This victory marked the closest Olympic 100m finish in modern history, with a mere five thousandths of a second separating the two athletes. Both Lyles and Thompson were officially timed at 9.79 seconds, but the decisive factor was in the fractional differences: Lyles clocked in at 9.784 seconds, while Thompson followed closely at 9.789 seconds.

On his wrist, Lyles sported the Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8 “Dark Side of the Moon”. Omega presented this at the beginning of the year back in January to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. The model, compared with the 2018 predecessor, takes on a more thematic approach, featuring details that mimic the lunar surface as seen from earth with dial cutouts that hint at the movement underneath. Not forgetting the three-dimensional miniature rocket that forms the main time’s running seconds hand. 

If you want to rationalize why he’d wear it to a sprint, I can tell you that at least the watch is light enough, being that it’s in a ceramic case. But other than that, it’s a cool chronograph and a little piece of American history that Lyles got to share on the track. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to get a little more throttle, would it?

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: Richard Mille RM 07-04 Quartz TPT Automatic Sport 

Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce raced with the Richard Mille RM 07-04 Quartz TPT Automatic Sport during the Women’s 100m Heats on Friday (2 Aug), clocking the second-fastest time at 10.92 seconds. Unfortunately, the two-time Olympic 100m champion’s bid for another title came to an abrupt halt when she withdrew before the 100m sem-ifinal on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury, according to Olympic officials. 

Notably, the RM 07-04 Automatic Sport was introduced as Richard Mille’s first women’s sports watch when it was launched last February. The watch weighs a feather-light 36g (including the Velcro strap) and is guaranteed resistance up to 5000 g’s. Quartz TPT (Thin Ply Technology) in this case refers to the high-tech material developed by North Thin Ply Technology, which offers high-heat resistance, strength and electromagnetic transparency. This composite material is created by heating and pressure molding layers of silica fibers, saturated in resin into the vivid and robust material that was initially developed for the RM27-02 Nadal.

Initially launched in six different colorways, the watch houses the CRMA8 caliber, an in-house automatic movement and the smallest automatic movement ever from the maison, with hours, minutes and a function selector. 

Miles Chamley-Watson: Richard Mille RM 65-01 Yellow Quartz TPT

And speaking of Quartz TPT, Olympic fencer Miles Chamley-Watson was en garde with blade and an RM 65-01 in tow when the US Men’s team took on France in the team foil. The Americans lost out on the bronze win at 32 points to France’s 45.

This particular Quartz TPT case safely protects the RMAC4 caliber in the RM 65-01, and offers not one, but six column wheels, which results in a buttery smooth actuation; this chronograph is capable of timing events up to 12 hours in duration and offers a total of 60 hours of power reserve. There’s also the ‘Rapid Winding’ function that allows you to bring the barrel up to charge with repeated activation.

Gabby Thomas: Omega Constellation 

Gabby Thomas of the United States advanced to the women’s 200 meters semi-finals with the fastest time in the preliminary round. On Sunday morning, Thomas clocked a swift 22.20 seconds, outpacing all competitors and underscoring her status as the frontrunner for the gold medal. At 27 years old, Thomas has already made a significant impact this season, holding the fastest time in the world with a remarkable 21.78 seconds. Her performance in the preliminary round further solidifies her position as a top contender in the upcoming final, scheduled for Tuesday. 

Thomas has been seen racing with the Omega Speedmaster “White Side of the Moon” at the Texas Relays back in April, but this time, she has surprisingly gone for a dressier option in the Omega Constellation. A dainty 25 mm piece with a diamond-paved bezel, a white mother-of-pearl dial, and in 18K yellow gold? We do believe she’s materializing for a medal in the same.

Simon Delestre: Hermès H08 

The French show jumping team, made up of Julien Épaillard, Olivier Perreau, and Simon Delestre, clinched the bronze medal in the team show jumping competition. Delestre, dressed smartly in a riding habit designed in patriotic colors by Le Coq Sportif, had on the Hermès H08 La matiere du temps watch, a 42mm number in rose gold and titanium. Coincidentally, his trusted steed is named Hermes Ryan. Talk about being on theme.

Hermès presented the H08 in 2021, and boy did it make an impression. I mean, Hermès’ H08 watches are well into the sports watches category now, especially with starting contenders in materials such as titanium and graphene (really, carbon) fashioned in cushion-like cases, allowing them to throw a circle into a square peg if you will, à la Hermès. The watch capitalizes on the in-house Calibre H1387 movement (introduced in 2012) that powers the extremely legible sector-dial, keeping the minute track and date window discreet.

Tommy Paul: De Bethune DB28xs ‘Starry Seas’

Tommy Paul secured a bronze medal in the Men’s Doubles alongside Taylor Fritz for Team USA. Adding a touch of personal style to his victory, Paul sported a De Bethune DB28xs ‘Starry Seas’ with a red strap to match the colors. 

We’ve made a case for why a ‘De Bethune Makes Perfect Sense on the Court’ when Paul wore a thematic DB28 LTC at the National Bank Open last year. First of all, it’s got the material down — titanium, which is lightweight and hardy enough to withstand an overhead coming your way. Then, the signature “floating lugs” that are finely-tuned to an athlete’s flexibility. Yet, the pièce de résistance is the triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system that’s doing everything the name suggests.

De Bethune was the first to develop a symmetrically secured bridge that not only keeps the balance-wheel perfectly in place, but added two shock-absorbers on either end, and on the balance wheel itself. We know, talk about covering all bases. Instead of screws, springs were fitted securely on polished arbors, thus efficiently absorbing and dampening violent impacts — like an unforgiving collision of balls, for instance. 

Armand Duplantis, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Keely Hodgkinson, Femke Bol, and Lieke Klaver: Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light”

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, a two-time world champion, has now broken the pole vault world record on nine separate occasions. On 5 August, he set a new world record of 6.25 meters after clinching gold in the men’s event at the Paris Olympics. The 24-year-old athlete initially secured his successive Olympic title by clearing six meters. Building on his remarkable performance, Duplantis set an Olympic record of 6.10 meters with his subsequent attempt. The pinnacle of the evening came when he surpassed his previous world record of 6.24 meters, established in April, by a mere centimeter on his third and final attempt. This achievement brought the crowd at the Stade de France to their feet in sheer delight.

Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh achieved a significant milestone in her athletic career by securing the gold medal in the women’s high jump. Despite failing to clear the 2.04m obstacle, Mahuchikh took the top spot when she successfully cleared a height of 2 meters. For Team England, their gold medal aspirations are alive and well, with world number one in the 800 metres Keely Hodgkinson having showcased her dominance in the semi-finals on Sunday. Her time of 1:56.86 at Stade de France places her as the fastest qualifier, setting up a thrilling battle for gold.

The Netherlands mixed 4×400m relay team, making up of Femke Bol, Eugene Omalla, Lieke Klaver, and Isaya Klein Ikkink, set a European record with a time of 3:07.43 minutes snagging themselves the gold. Bol’s final lap in the relay was particularly impressive, timed at a remarkable 47.93 seconds. In her 400-meter hurdles segment, Bol dominated in heat three, clocking 53.38 seconds, the fastest time of the morning and the fastest heat ever recorded in Olympic history.

All five athletes sported the blue-accented Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” (a special edition for “Mondo” Duplantis was released for the Games). The “Ultra Light” Aqua Terra was the first to use Gamma Titanium (or chemically known as titanium aluminide (TiAl)) in the case, caseback and crown. According to Omega, Gamma Titanium is lighter and harder than conventional titanium, and is used in the aeronautical industry. To cut weight further, Omega even reduced the amount of material used to create the dial, where as a result, when paired with its fabric strap, the watch weighs a scant 55g. We discover the watch in detail here.

This article was updated on 7 August with the latest results from the 2024 Paris Olympics Games.