Nike's new world record-breaking Alphafly 3 'super shoes' hit resale sites at nearly £600 a pair after selling out in two minutes
- Nike Alphafly 3 shoes worn when marathon record broken in Chicago in October
Nike's world record-breaking lightweight shoes have been spotted on resale sites for nearly £600 after they sold out in stores in just two minutes.
Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum wore the brand's Alphafly 3 shoe when he broke the world record time for marathons in Chicago in October.
He ran the Chicago Marathon in two hours, 35 seconds, shattering fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge's old mark by 34 seconds.
The shoes went on general sale on Thursday morning but every shoe in the world was bought in two minutes.
Buyers eager to turn a profit have listed them on resale sites for eye-watering prices - one person put a pair on eBay for £589.
Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum wore Nike Alphafly 3 shoe when he broke the world record time for marathons in Chicago in October (pictured)
He ran the Chicago Marathon in two hours, 35 seconds, shattering fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge 's old mark by 34 seconds
The shoes have been seen on resale sites for hundreds of pounds after they went on general sale on Thursday morning sold out in just two minutes
Last year, version 2 of the Alphafly helped Eliud Kipchoge smash the men's record in Berlin in 2022.
Both Nike and Adidas are focusing on helping the world's elite marathon runners trim down records by offering them lightweight shoes.
Minimal weights not only improves running economy, but also provides runners with greater energy return, experts said.
In September, Ethiopian athlete Assefa ran the Berlin Marathon in two hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds – 131 seconds faster than the previous world record.
Many credited her £400 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes - which crumble after one long race - for helping her shave two minutes off the previous record.
Both Adidas and Nike giants have invested heavily in one-race shoes, which will help elite athletes - and eventually amateurs - cut down their race times.
Adidas's Adizeros weigh just 138g. For comparison, the average high-top Converse shoe weighs 340g - more than twice as heavy.
Only 521 pairs were made and some have also been seen for sale on resale sites for up to £800.
Tim Hutchings, a Los Angeles 1984 5,000m Olympic finalist said record books should note a 'new era' - the rise of the super shoe - so as not to cheapen previous records.
It's not the first time athletes have taken a stand against hi-tech equipment.
Tigist Assefa (pictured) smashed the women's marathon world record - taking two minutes off the old record - with her shoes, a pair of £400 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 credited for helping her to do it
The super-light shoe weighs just 138 grams and is unlikely to stand up to more than one long race, Adidas said
During the race, Assefa wore Adidas' new 'super shoe' – the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, which is one of the lightest racing shoes ever made
In 2009, the governing body for swimming, World Aquatics, banned polyurethane suits, which broke close to 200 world records in under two years.
That year, 23-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps applauded the proposal.
However, for the moment World Athletics is happy that its guidelines have evened the playing field.
They were most recently changed in 2022 to enforce that every shoe must have a minimum stack height of 40mm for road and 25mm for track.
Running shoes also need to be available to the general public, although special measures can be granted for 'developmental' shoes if they meet the guidelines and are approved by World Athletics, as happened with the Adidas and Nike lightweight super shoes.
