Forget about skateboarding and breakdancing – the Olympic Games were very different back in the day. If you were an athlete in 700BC, you might instead be taking part in events such as mule-cart race, four horse chariot race, or maybe even the Herald and Trumpet contest, where competitors were ranked on “clarity of enunciation” and “audibility of horn blast”. For our Ready, Set, Go summer issue, photographer Szilveszter Makó and stylist Lisa Jarvis transport us back to that time, transforming model Aaron Shandel into a decorated Athenian athlete (minus the mules, of course).

Discus is the first event on Shandel’s Olympic schedule, and we’re assuming he wins: Makó goes on to photograph him with a laurel wreath crown on his head while staring into the distance, like the side profile of an emperor on an Ancient Greek coin. Elsewhere in the shoot, some more modern sports come into play, as the model is seen in white long johns and a tunic clutching some wooden skis, and also on top of a pommel horse as a barefoot gymnast. And while we’re positive they didn’t have Dior back in ancient times, the label’s Fall 2024 men’s collection is the finishing touch to complete this Olympic victory lap.

Hair PIERPAOLO LAI at JULIAN WATSON AGENCY, make-up LUCIANO CHIARELLO at JULIAN WATSON AGENCY, model AARON SHANDEL at WILHELMINA, set design EDITH DI MONDA STUDIO, photographic assistant GIANLUCA MALAVOLTA, styling assistant MIRELLA VIALE MARCHINO, hair assistant EUGENIO COLELLA, make-up assistant CLAUDIA MELIS, production SIYAN CHEN, production assistants RUOCHEN MEI, LYDIA FARDE, casting MISCHA NOTCUTT at 11CASTING