Adidas unveiled the Adidas Adizero Sub2, a marathon shoe designed to take athletes below the two-hour barrier. The first step in the brand’s Sub2 program, the shoe debuted at Sunday’s Tokyo Marathon by former world record holder and Adidas athlete, Wilson Kipsang.
Kipsang won the race with a time of 2:03:58 in the fastest race ever run in Japan. The Kenyan marathon runner currently owns the only pair of Adidas Adizero Sub2 shoes in existence, in an exclusive Energy Blue colorway.
The Adidas Adizero Sub2 showcases cutting-edge Adidas innovation. To develop a product designed to enable athletes to break the two-hour barrier, Adidas Innovation Technologies explored the performance of a range of materials in different temperatures and environments and on different surfaces. The best prototypes were then subjected to rigorous testing and co-development with elite athletes, including Kipsang.
“Adidas Adizero Sub2 is a significant milestone in the brand’s Sub2 program and central to the future of Adidas running,” said André Maestrini, global general manager, Adidas Running. “Around the London Marathon in 2012, we started thinking about Sub2 as a concept and Adidas’ role in achieving what was deemed impossible. We began creating a shoe that could enable this, and Wilson is the perfect athlete to test our innovation in a race environment. We’re incredibly excited to see where this can go.”
Engineered specifically for elite athletes on race day, Boost Light is the brand’s lightest-ever foam and retains the energy return that has powered Adidas athletes to world records. The shoe’s upper is made of a single layer of ultralight fabric, featuring a weight-reduced mesh with internal reinforcements and advanced Microfit, developed to create the best support, comfort and fit for high-speed road racing. A Continental Microweb (an evolution of Stretchweb) outsole delivers maximum grip, whatever the race conditions, to ensure no energy is wasted due to even the slightest amount of slipping. The shoe was created for community runners and world class athletes alike, to deliver faster times and break records.
“I have a great history with Adidas and it’s an honor to be the first person to wear the Adizero Sub2,” said Kipsang. “Boost was a game changer for me. After working with Adidas on Boost Light, I’m absolutely ready to get out on the course in Tokyo and show the world what we can do.”
The brand’s goal was to make the world’s fastest long-distance racing shoe through the aggregation of marginal gains during the 20,000-plus steps it takes to complete a marathon.
The Adidas Adizero Sub2 will be available later this year.
Photo courtesy Adidas
