These were the fastest shoes of the men’s Olympic marathon
The men’s Olympic Marathon course was made to be a challenge for its competitors, with long hill climbs in the middle that tested the runners’ grit. We spotted their footwear, relying on the occasional slow-motion replay to pin down the models from Adidas, Nike, and Asics. Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia was the victor in a strong field.
Tola’s win adds another podium finish for Adidas’s £450 super shoe, the featherlight Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1. Other shoes in the top 10 included both the Edge and Sky models of Asics’s Metaspeed Paris, Nike’s Vaporfly and Alphafly, and a few surprises that were a bit tricky to identify.
Here’s a list of the top 10 men and the shoes they ran in.
1st — Tamirat Tola, Ethiopia
2:06:26, Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
Even though he won the 2023 New York City Marathon, Tola was added to Ethiopia’s team just weeks before the Paris Olympics. He broke the Olympic Marathon record running in the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1.
The shoe had a limited run of 521 pairs. The next drop is set for October 3 at 9am.
2nd — Bashir Abdi, Belgium
2:06:47, Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris
Bronze medalist of the Tokyo Olympic Marathon, Bashir earned silver this time running in the Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris. This version of the shoe has a carbon fibre plate that dips lower in the forefoot. This angled plate favours 'cadence' runners who tend to turn over their legs faster and roll off the toe of the shoe more quickly.
3rd — Benson Kipruto, Kenya
2:07:00, Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
Kipruto was one of the favorites this year, and his bronze win adds another pair of Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 to the podium. Like Tola, he wore v2 of the shoe, which includes a grippier outsole with Continental rubber. World Athletics has a list of approved shoes that athletes can compete in; one stipulation is that these shoes must have been publicly available for purchase. Though not available on Adidas’s website, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 v2 is on the approved list.
4th — Emile Cairess, Great Britain
2:07:29, Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
The last pair of Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 in the men’s top 10 was worn by Team GB's very own Cairess, who won bronze at the 2024 London Marathon. This is the best performance by a Brit in the Olympic marathon for 40 years.
5th — Deresa Geleta, Ethiopia
2:07:31, Nike Vaporfly 3
One of only two Nike-wearing athletes in the top 10, Geleta ran in the Vaporfly 3. From our testing, we’ve found the shoe to be more propulsive than past iterations. Version 3 is more stable, as well.
6th — Akira Akasaki, Japan
2:07:32, New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4
Representing Japan, Akasaki was the lone runner who raced in New Balance in the top 10. Like other super shoes, such as the Nike Vaporfly 3 above, the FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4 has a PEBA midsole. Its Energy Arc geometry pairs with the carbon fibre plate to promote a springy, high-rebound ride.
7th — Tebello Ramakongoana, Lesotho
2:07:58, Xtep 160X 5.0 Pro
Ramakongoana’s shoe was difficult to place, but we figured it out: It was the 160X 5.0 Pro, which is made by the Chinese sportswear brand Xtep.
8th — Conner Mantz, USA
2:08:12, Nike Alphafly 3
Instead of racing in the original Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% like he did at the USA Olympic Marathon Trials, Mantz opted to race in the latest edition of the Alphafly.
The Alphafly 3 has ZoomX foam, dual Zoom Air units, and a full-length Flyplate. This version was created to be more accommodating not just for the elite runner, but for the everyday runner, as well. Nike boosted stability by broadening the midfoot and widening the carbon plate on the medial side of the shoe.
9th — Clayton Young, USA
2:08:44, Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris
Young ran in the other version of Asics’s racing shoe, the Metaspeed Sky Paris, which is designed for stride runners. You can easily differentiate between the Sky and Edge by looking at their soles — the Sky has a red outsole and the Edge has a black outsole. The Sky also has a flatter carbon plate which sits closer to the foot. This helps 'stride' runners leverage the midsole’s bounce over their longer steps.
10th — Samsom Amare, Eritrea
2:08:56, Li-Ning Feidian 4 Ultra
We racked our brains for what the design on Amare’s shoes resembled. Was that an Anta logo? Diadora? Turns out, the shoe is from a Chinese footwear company called Li-Ning and is the Li-Ning Feidian 4 Ultra.
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