Wayde van Niekerk unveils Richard Mille’s Sprint

Wayde van Niekerk, during the World Championships in Athletics at the Olympic Stadium in London, sported the new creation from Richard Mille – the RM 67-02 Sprint, a sports version of the RM 67-01

Olympic Gold medallist and world-record holder for the 300 and 400 metres, the pluridisciplinary athlete Wayde van Niekerk is the only sprinter to have run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds, the 200 metres in less than 20 seconds, the 300 metres in less than 31 seconds , and the 400 metres in under 44 seconds.

The desire to create a watch that is so uniquely adapted it is practically a second skin for the athlete, permitting a sort of ‘symbiosis’ with him was the guiding ambition that propelled this new development. Starting with the idea of lending a sporty feel to the RM 67-01, whose lightness, thinness, and ergonomics made it a perfect candidate, the Richard Mille team reworked its lines to highlight its athletic qualities. The incorporation of 4 extensions, in addition to being a hallmark of the brand’s sports watches, contributes to reinforcing the case structure.

The case is crafted in Carbon TPT and Quartz TPT, composite materials exclusive to Richard Mille possessing exceptional shock resistance. The slimness of the 7.8 mm bezel/caseband/caseback assembly in no way reduces its physical properties, nor its ability to handle any situation that might occur while engaging in high-level sports. The tight, taut lines of the rotor, crafted of Carbon TPT and white gold, the bridges and the DLC-coated grade 5 titanium baseplate of the new in-house extra-flat CRMA7 calibre sharply underscore the sporty quality of this timepiece.

The going train ensures excellent transmission of power to the barrel thanks to its variable-inertia balance, guaranteeing constant performance for 50 hours. With its satin-finished, bevelled hands and sharp lines, the calibre CRMA7 actively conveys a sense of power and strength. The dial, whose lines echo those of the movement, is machined from a sheet of titanium only four-tenths of a millimetre thick. Treated with a black DLC coating, it is then painted by hand in the colours of each athlete’s flag.

Entirely seamless and non-slip, the new comfort strap is highly elastic, perfectly fitting the contours of each wrist. As the lightest strap the brand has ever created, it has helped lighten the RM 67-02 to just 32 grams.