Nike vs Adidas - The War of the Super Shoes 👟
Plus, why is Nike suing a small ski apparel company?
Welcome to Athletic Interest,
How do you win a marathon? Well, it involves years of practice, a very strict diet, and probably some talent.
But, in 2023, the shoes that you wear are becoming more and more important.
This year has seen the rise of the ‘Super Shoes’. While this may sound like the worst Marvel movie idea in history, it actually refers to the decade(+) long technological arms race between Adidas and Nike which has culminated in some incredibly advanced running shoes.
The goal? To have a runner complete a competitive marathon in under two hours. Something considered almost impossible a few years ago. We are now just 36 seconds from making that a reality.
This has been a long and fascinating road, and one that has drawn its fair share of controversy. Let’s explore.
2004 - Adidas began the arms race by tasking Japanese shoe designer Toshiaki Omori with creating the perfect running trainer.
2008 - Adidas releases the Adizero Adios. Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie was given a pair the night before the Berlin Marathon and beat his own world record by 29 seconds (2:03:59).
2011-2014 - The Adizero launched a period of domination for Adidas in marathon running. Newer versions of the shoe broke the record three more times and brought us an entire minute closer to the 2-hour mark.
2016 - Nike officially entered the chat, and things got heated. The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly used Nike’s new super lightweight foam and a special curved carbon fibre plate in the midsole that acted like a springboard. The shoe was on the feet of all three podium finishers at the 2016 Olympics (men’s marathon).
2017 - Nike launches a project to break the two-hour barrier called Breaking2. Nike paired the Vaporfly with Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge at a special marathon stage in Monza. Kipchoge was assisted by special pace runners and even a Tesla equipped with a laser to help with pacing. They missed by 25 seconds but set a new unofficial world record.
2018 - Eliud Kipchoge beats Adidas’ 2014 official record by 78 seconds (2:01:39) in a prototype updated version of the Zoom X Vaporfly.
2019 - It’s Kipchoge again. Nike releases its next generation (the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next%) and Kipchoge runs a marathon in less than two hours, although it’s not considered an official record. A day later, Brigid Kosgei beats the longstanding Women’s record by 81 seconds (2:14:04).
2020 - Studies find that Nike’s new tech makes the average marathon runner 4% faster than their rivals. This leads to headlines accusing Nike of ruining running with technology. World Athletics decides to introduce a 40mm sole limit for marathon shoes and effectively bans prototype shoes (must be available on the market for at least 4 months).
2022 - Nike goes back to the drawing board and comes out with its next generation. Eliud Kipchoge beats his own official record by another 30 seconds (2:01:09).
2023 - This is the year that the arms race really took off. Adidas finally responds to Nike. Tigst Assefa smashes the Women’s record at the Berlin Marathon by more than two minutes in the new Adizero Adios Evo Pro. The shoe is named one of Time Magazine’s 200 best inventions of 2023.
2023 - Nike hits back with the Alphafly 3. Kelvin Kiptum completes the Chicago Marathon in two hours and 35 seconds, beating the previous record held by Kipchoge.
While this has been an interesting fight between Adidas and Nike, it hasn’t been without controversy. Some argue that this reliance on technology has made the recent world records less impressive as they do not rely as much on human achievement. A similar criticism is given to Formula 1.
Whatever your opinion, it looks like super shoes are now a major part of marathon running. 2024 could be a very fast year.
⛷ It turns out that Nike’s beef isn’t just with Adidas, they are also fighting a small ski apparel company.
Stephen Fucik from Colorado started Skiman LLC to sell winter sports clothing to fellow enthusiasts.
He even developed this interesting logo, which he says represents a skier performing a maneuver called a daffy.
Fucik even registered the logo as a trademark in 2020. Now, Nike has written him multiple cease and desist letters arguing that his logo is confusingly similar to its own Jumpman logo.
Someone starting a company called Skiman and having a Ski version of the Jumpman logo is an incredible coincidence.
Fucik says that he has no plans to change the logo and claims that changing it will negatively affect his business. Nike would argue that he is gaining business by using their trademark. This will likely need to be settled in court.
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