Adidas Is Running Ahead of Nike as the World Cup Approaches
In the London Marathon, both men's winner Sabastian Sawe and women's winner Tigst Assefa wore Adidas Adizero running shoes.
Photographer: Alex Davidson/Getty Images EuropeWhen Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha ran the men’s London Marathon last month in fewer than two hours, each wearing Adidas AG’s Adizero ultra-light racing shoes, they smashed through one of the biggest barriers in distance running. They also shattered a narrative around rival Nike Inc.’s underperformance in recent years.
The popular explanation for Nike’s struggles is that a plethora of nimble upstarts including On Holding AG and Brooks Running Co. have whittled away the US firm’s market share, particularly in the running category. Adidas’s success at the London Marathon — Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa won the women’s race in the same footwear — demonstrates that Nike also faces a powerful traditional competitor.