Athlete Yohan Blake spotted wearing a Richard Mille

Photographed at the 2012 London Olympic Games, where he took silver in the 100m and 200m behind Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake can be seen here competing in his PUMA Jamaica kit — and on his wrist, unmistakably, sits a Richard Mille RM 61-01 Yohan Blake Tourbillon, a timepiece created in direct partnership with the athlete and drenched in Jamaican national colors.

The RM 61-01 is a manual-winding tourbillon movement (Calibre RM61-01) beating at 21,600 vph with approximately 70 hours of power reserve. The case is fashioned from grade 5 titanium with a white ceramic bezel and caseback insert, measuring roughly 50.35mm × 42.90mm — substantial even by Richard Mille standards, yet engineered to weigh as little as possible for wrist comfort during athletic activity. The skeletonized dial is framed in vivid green composite, and the yellow rubber strap with signature green pusher completes the unmistakable Jamaica palette. The movement architecture features a baseplate and bridges in Carbon TPT® with red markings, visible through the open-worked dial.

From a collector's standpoint, athlete-specific Richard Mille collaborations in tourbillon grade represent the marque's apex offering. The RM 61-01 was produced in an extremely limited numbered series — reportedly fewer than 30 pieces — making it one of the rarest references in the brand's catalogue. Unlike the more commercially available Felipe Massa or Rafael Nadal editions, the Blake tourbillon almost never surfaces at auction, which speaks both to the tight production run and to the loyalty of owners.

Blake's relationship with Richard Mille began around his peak competitive years (2011–2012), when he became the second-fastest man in history. Richard Mille's strategy of aligning with elite athletes who genuinely wear the watches in competition — not merely in endorsement — lends authenticity to a pairing that could otherwise seem purely transactional.

At a UK retail equivalent of approximately £375,000 (circa $480,000 USD at period exchange rates), the RM 61-01 Yohan Blake was never an accessible proposition. On the secondary market today, verified examples — when they appear at all — command significant premiums above list, with estimates ranging from $550,000 to $700,000 USD depending on condition and provenance. This is a watch that functions as a wearable archive of one of sprinting's defining Olympic moments.