Sawe's marathon record boosts Adidas in 'supershoe' race with Nike

April 27 : 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.

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.

After the race, Sawe held up his $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 big difference is it's so light and very comfortable," Sawe told reporters on Monday about the shoe, which is set to go on sale to the public on Thursday.

Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha finished second in London on Sunday in his marathon debut and Tigst Assefa broke her own women-only world record. They were also wearing Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 trainers.

"I'm very happy to have broken the record and to have won in London for a second time. It means a lot to me," said Assefa, who put the win down to shoes that "allow me to run fast" - and years of discipline and hard work.

"I've trained hard, and because of all the hard work I've put in, I've achieved this level of success," she said.

NIKE LOOKS TO CATCH UP

Using innovative foam and carbon-plated soles, and ultra-light components, the third iteration of the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 weighs an average 97