Adidas shares rose Monday after three London Marathon podium-shaking performances gave the German sportswear company a rare clean win in the supershoe race against Nike.
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe became the first athlete to run a marathon under two hours in an official race, finishing Sunday’s London Marathon in 1:59:30 while wearing Adidas’ new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3.
The stock gained nearly 2% in Frankfurt before paring the move to trade about 1.4% higher at €138, or roughly $162.
The pop does not erase a rough year: Adidas remains down more than 18% in 2026 as investors weigh US tariff exposure, weaker sales in Middle East stores, and a brutally competitive sportswear market.
Sawe’s run broke the previous official men’s marathon world record of 2:00:35, set by the late Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, by 65 seconds.
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha also broke the two-hour mark in London, finishing second in 1:59:41, while Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa won the women’s race in 2:15:41, lowering her own women-only marathon world record.
All three ran in the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, Adidas’ newest elite racing shoe. Adidas says the model weighs an average 97 grams, is priced at $500, and launched in limited pairs on April 25 after sign-ups opened April 23, with a broader release planned for the fall marathon season. The company also says the shoe delivers 11% greater forefoot energy return and improves running economy by 1.6% compared with its predecessor.
The result gives Adidas a marketing asset that cannot be replicated by a campaign deck. Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to cover the marathon distance in under two hours in 2019 while wearing Nike shoes, but that Vienna event was run under controlled conditions with rotating pacemakers and was not eligible as an official record.
For Adidas, the timing matters. The company spent years repairing brand damage from its collapsed Yeezy partnership with Ye, formerly Kanye West, while leaning on lifestyle hits such as Samba and Gazelle to rebuild consumer heat.
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