byLarry Eder
Clockwise from top left: Nike Air Zoom Alphafly, Nike Air Zoom Victory, Nike Air Zoom Tempo, and Nike Air Zoom Viperfly.PHOTO: NIKE
The shoe controversy continues. This fine piece puts much of the furor into perspective. This furor is not over. Excellent piece by Khadeeja Safdar and Rachel Bachman.
In a crackdown on running sneakers spurred by high-tech Nikes, a clear winner is emerging: Nike Inc.
New restrictions introduced last week by track and field’s world governing body didn’t just spare the company’s controversial Vaporfly sneakers from a ban. They also set the requirements at levels that allow the next generation of Nike distance-running shoes to sneak just under the limits.
Nike said its Air Zoom Alphafly Next%, a prototype of which Eliud Kipchoge wore in October to run a marathon in less than two hours, falls within the new requirements. Two of the company’s new designs, which will be released later in the spring, will also likely be eligible for competition before the Tokyo Games, giving Nike’s performance-boosting shoes the broad blessing of international authorities while its rivals scramble to get similar sneakers to market.
To read this excellent piece in its entirety, please go to: https://www-wsj-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/nike-alphafly-sneakers-will-also-avoid-olympic-ban-11580929200
