The current world record holder wears them and so does a newbie who won his first marathon.
These Nike Shoes are so revolutionary that marathoners are ditching their current brands like Adidas to go for Nike Vaporfly Shoe.
The Shoe that makes a Legend
Nike Vaporfly was worn by Eliud Kipchoge when he completed the Ineos challenge by running 42 Km in 1 hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds. This feat is a first in human history and was possible due to the endurance of the runner and the technology of the shoe. Many marathoners have tried to break this threshold but it was only Eliud and his Vaporfly that did so. To put things to perspective remember Usain Bolt running 100 m in 9.58 seconds well this is that kind of legendary.
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| The perfect combo: Eliud and Nike Vaporfly |
The Shoe that makes Winners
What if a person with no marathon experience wins a marathon? Well, that is what happened during the Mumbai Marathon in 2019. A cross country runner named Darera Hurisa won the first-ever marathon he ran in his Nike Vaporfly. What is more surprising is that Hurisa even broke the previous record of Mumbai marathon and won a total of $60,000. Also, Geofrey Kamworo won the New York marathon (2019) in his Nike Vaporfly and Brigid Kosgei made the record for women's marathon at Chicago Marathon while in her Vaporfly.
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Breaking Conventions: Newbie Hurisa demolishing competition at Mumbai Marathon.
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Nike Vaporfly: Demystified
Nike Claims that Vaporfly can improve an athletes performance by 4% and this is substantiated by marathon results lately, where runners have taken the top three positions in 31 marathons out of 36. Add to this the world records and legendary performances and what you have is a brand of shoe that is essential for improving performance and winning. Some runners have equated Vaporfly to a trampoline and others to a pogo stick, making running fun again. What the inference though is, Vaporfly makes running easy, helps to improve as a runner and if you happen to be marathoner, it may even help you win.
Too Good: Ban Them
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Vaporfly Version -Alphafly a prototype banned from elite competitions
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World athletics has banned Alphafly a version of vaporfly. All other versions of Vaporfly will remain legal and can be used in elite competitions. The reason for the ban is more than 40 mm thickness in the midsole which gave undue advantage to the runner. The versions of vaporfly with less than 40 mm thickness in the midsole and having only one carbon fibre plate will remain legal in elite competitions. This is a win-win situation for Nike as it has gained considerable worldwide attention due to this fiasco and this may increase its sale. Also, it just has to ban a single prototype and will reap huge benefits out of the unmatched brand - Vaporfly it has created.
Tokyo Olympics
While Covid19 has pushed the dates for the games to 2021 from 2020, it has also given other brands to make similar competing shoes like Vaporfly. So the blitzkrieg of Nike may have been dampened but the excitement it created about the shoe is noteworthy. It is a lesson in communicating about a brand having a technical edge over its competition through unmatched results.
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| Fun Fact: Tokyo Olympics will carry the branding of "2020" due to the huge cost involved to change it. |
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