Leading sports brands adidas and Nike have unveiled new footwear for use by their big names in the Beijing Olympics.
The team at adidas have worked with US 100m champion Tyson Gay to create a pair of spikes based on the adiStar Sprint which draw a heavy influence from the shoes worn by another adidas icon, Jesse Owens, in the 1930s.
They have created a special pair of spikes for 400m specialist Jeremy Wariner to use that are designed to help him run more effectively around the bends where many sprinters lose speed. Allyson Felix and Yelena Isinbayeva have also had special make-ups made.
Not to be outdone Nike have created new shoes for Asafa Powell as well as a new set of middle and long distance spikes. The Nike Zoom Victory weighs in at less than100g by using 'Flywire' technology and going to great lengths to reduce the weight of the upper, midsole and spike plate. Flywire sees overlays replaced with thin Vectran threads. Another Flywire shoe, the Matumbo, is for the longer distances and is an evolution of the Ventulus 2. On the roads the marathon runners are likely to be wearing the Lunar Racer which as well as Flywire technology also uses Lunar Foam. Lunar Foam is a new lightweight cushioning material from Nike that they have evolved from a foam used by NASA in space shuttle seats.
