Adidas shares rise after ‘super shoe’ helps Kenyan break two-hour barrier in London
Adidas shares rose after Sabastian Sawe became the first person to run an official marathon in under two hours wearing the company’s new ‘super shoe’.
The Kenyan 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.
He beat the previous world record of 2:00:35 set at the Chicago Marathon in October 2023 by Kelvin Kiptum.
After the race, Sawe held up his Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 trainers, which go on sale on Thursday weighing just 97 grams and costing £450.
Also wearing the new super shoes were Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who finished second with another sub-two-hour time of 1:59:41, and Tigst Assefa, who broke her own women-only world record with a time of 2:15:41.
Sabastian Sawe crosses the line to win the London Marathon in a new world record time
Tigst Assefa and Sabastian Sawe celebrate world records by holding up their Adidas shoes
The results are a boost for Adidas in its battle with arch-rival Nike after years of lab‑backed experiments and near‑misses looking to build a ‘super shoe’ to help achieve a sub-two hour run.
Adidas shares rose 2 per cent.
Patrick Nava, general manager at Adidas running, said: ‘The Adidas family is incredibly proud of Sabastian and Tigist’s historic achievements, marking the fastest times humans have ever run in a marathon.
‘This is a testament to the years of hard work and dedication they have made, alongside our innovation team, who have built a super shoe which breaks new ground in the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3.’
The sub‑two‑hour marathon has been one of sport’s biggest goals for years.
Nike’s Breaking2 attempt at Monza in 2017 just fell short but Kenyan great Eliud Kipchoge ran under two hours in Ineos’s 1:59 Challenge two years later.
However, that fell outside the sport’s official record books and was completed under carefully arranged conditions.
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