by Larry EderSpecial thanks to adidas and Nike for providing us with info and letting us talk to their teams in Eugene. Here are some of the shoes that are being worn here for the Beijing Olympics. Some similar were worn at the US Olympic Trials as well….hope you enjoy!
Okay real geeks, below are some of the footwear, courtesy of Nike and adidas, that some of the top stars in Beijing are sporting! I thought you might get a kick out of them:
adidas
This first shoe is built for Jeremy Wariner, who will be wearing this in the 400 meters and 4 x 400 meter relay. Note the Lonestar insignia on this shoe, just for Jeremy.
This shoe was built for Tyson Gay, who wore this in his 100 meter rounds and would wear this or a similar model ( in other color ways) for the 4 x 100 meter relay team.
This final shoe is for Allyson Felix. Allyson picked out the color ways as well and wore similar shoes in the Olympic Trials 100 meter and 200 meters. At this time, it looks like she is being considered for both relays and obviously, she will run the 200 meters in Beijing.
Bershawn Jackson competes today in the men’s 400 Hurdles, also in a version of the Nike Zoom Celar labeled with his nickname “Batman.”
NIke
Bernard Lagat will be wearing the Nike Zoom Matumbo, our lightest middle distance spike featuring Nike’s revolutionary Flywire technology, for the men’s 5000m. With everything on the line in Beijing, Nike added some inspirational incentive to Lagat’s footwear. We asked him what would give him a psychological edge in China and he responded by saying “I would love to take my son (Miika, age 2 ½) to Beijing and run with him.” To accomplish that, Lagat took a photo of his son which Nike applied to the tounge of his footwear via heat-transfer film.
Sanya Richards took first last night in the women’s 400m semi finals and will be wearing a special version of the Nike Zoom Celar. We have not only created her footwear to take her performance to the next level, but she’ll also be able to make a personal statement of her style. For the spotlight of Beijing, the upper of the shoe is constructed with reflective rhinestone material using a shiny bead-like finish in a diamond-and-platinum colorway. It is finished with an obsidian Swoosh design to match her Team USA uniform. Her name “Zoom Richards” is emblazoned on the shoe’s heel as well, and the shoe’s interior features the USA “We The People” graphic design also featured on Team USA’s Federation track and field uniforms.
Wallace Spearmon, Jr. will be competing in men’s 200m wearing the Nike Zoom Mawler. Spearmon asked that his Zoom Mawlers (power sprint spike created for the stronger athletes) make a statement and stand out from the rest of the pack. In response to his request, Nike’s designers adorned the shoe with lightening bolts, a reflection of his strength and speed.
Hopefully, we will have more geek shoes to come!
