Adidas shares rise after ‘supershoe’ helps seal sub-two hour marathon win

A sign is displayed in front of an Adidas retail store in Paramus, N.J.. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

German sportswear maker Adidas’ shares rose on Monday after Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours in an official race, accomplishing his feat wearing the brand’s Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 trainers.

Sawe shattered one of athletics’ most elusive barriers on Sunday as he stormed to victory at the London Marathon in one hour 59 minutes and 30 seconds. The sub‑two‑hour marathon has been one of sport’s biggest goals for years.

After the race, Sawe held up his US$500 Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 trainer with “WR” and “sub-2” written on it in black marker pen. He beat the previous world record of 2:00:35 set at the Chicago Marathon in October 2023 by the late Kelvin Kiptum.

The win is a boost for Adidas against arch-rival Nike, after years of lab‑backed experiments and near‑misses looking to build a so-called “supershoe” to break the record.

Nike’s Breaking2 attempt at Monza in 2017 just fell short though Kenyan great Eliud Kipchoge ran under two hours in INEOS’s 1:59 Challenge two years later. Yet those efforts fell outside the sport’s official record books.

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha finished second in his marathon debut and Tigst Assefa broke her own women-only world record. All three were wearing Adidas’ Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 trainers, which are set to go on sale on Thursday.

Using innovative foam and carbon-plated soles, and ultra-light components, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 weighs an average 97 grams, 30 per cent less than its predecessor, and improves running economy by 1.6 per cent, Adidas said.

“The Adidas family is incredibly proud of Sabastian and Tigist’s historic achievements,” Patrick Nava, general manager at Adidas Running, said in a statement.

“This is a testament to the years of hard work and dedication the have made, alongside our innovation team.”

Adidas shares were up two per cent in mid-morning although they are down 18% since the start of this year on concerns about the group’s exposure to U.S. tariffs and the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.

Adidas released its Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 trainers in late 2023, after Assefa set a new women’s marathon world record while wearing them at the women’s Berlin Marathon.

The third iteration of the shoe will be released for US$500 a pair exclusively via the Adidas app, with a wider release in the autumn marathon season, according to the company’s website, but the steep price tag puts them out of reach of most runners.

(Reporting by Amir Orusov, Helen Reid and Alessandro Parodi; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Susan Fenton)