Trinidadian Olympian Ato Boldon who ended up winning the silver medal for the men’s 100-meter race, was wearing a standard running leotard with a pair of silver, reflective sunglasses that went not over his ears but over his head.
He lost out to Maurice Green in what was a very close race. While it is a popular notion that nobody remembers second place, Boldon is the rare exception that has been remembered more than most other Olympians at the entire event. Fittingly called Overthetop, the Oakley pair morphed Boldon into a speedy dystopian character out of 'Mad Max'.
Following the event, fans quickly searched for these sunglasses and identified Oakley as the brand that made them. Oakley aptly named the product OVERTHETOP, describing exactly what they were.
When he wore them to the Olympics, commentators called the glasses space-age eyewear. Boldon had been friends with both a representative for Oakley and the company’s founder, James Jannard, who talked to Boldon about wearing glasses. Olympians can’t show sponsors on their uniforms, but, according to Boldon, they can wear what they want on their face, which he refers to as “prime real estate.”
In the 1996 Olympics, Boldon wore an Oakley earring, and by the time 2000 rolled around, Oakley reps asked if he wanted to wear the Overthetop sunglasses. “Oakley was a fun company to be associated with because they were always trying to push the envelope, get stares, and get people to think differently about what eyewear could look like,” said Boldon.
He compared Oakley’s cyborg shades to a car company. “They aren’t mainstream, but that is kind of the point. A car company will build typical cars for their normal consumers, and then they’ll build a prototype to show what they can do,” said Boldon. “This was Oakley showing a glimpse of what they can do.”
Boldon gave both of his original pairs away to his cousin and uncle, but his Overthetop sunglasses live on in the digital world. “It has been 21 years, and every day on my social media, I see a picture of myself (wearing them),” he said. Years on and the OVERTHETOPs are still sought after by many fashion aficionados.
It definitely does take a strong mind to sport something many would criticize. However, the decision to wear the OVERTHETOP at the Olympics paid off and over two decades down the line, some argue that it’s still ahead of its time.