Battle of the super shoes: Nike under threat in London Marathon tech race

London Marathon organisers expect around half of the 45,000 participants to be wearing super shoes. Photograph: Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters

When the world’s greatest distance athletes square off in the London Marathon on Sunday, there will be a battle within a battle, a technological arms race within the race. In the myriad fascinating storylines – a potential women’s world record, Mo Farah’s last dance over 26.2 miles and four of the five fastest men in history slugging it out – there is an intriguing multimillion-dollar subplot that pits brand against brand, and super shoe against super shoe.

Since the creation of these shoes in 2016, Nike athletes have dominated the marathon – and the company has reaped the financial rewards. Having world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge in the famous swoosh helped, of course. But it wasn’t just him. In 2019, Nike athletes took 31 of the 36 podium places in the six marathon majors. It sent a subliminal message to ordinary runners. Want to smash your personal bests? Buy Nike’s Vaporfly or AlphaFly shoes. Now, though, the winds of change are building.