What shoe is being worn by some of the fastest people on the planet?

Say hello to the Nike Air Zoom Maxfly
Aug 5, 2021
PHOTO: AP

RUNNING is among the most ancient and the purest of sports. Its most distilled form is probably the 100-meter dash — in all aspects one of the fastest Olympic sports. For the athletes in competition, years of training culminate in a seconds-long rush to the finish line.

As Slate’s Justin Peters wrote after the 100 meter events wrapped up, “Truly, fast guys racing for 10 seconds or so at a time is the essence of international sport.”

In that event, the gold medals were clinched by Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy and Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica.

Elaine Thompson-Herah in women's 100-meter, Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Lamont Marcell Jacobs (third from left) in men's 100-meter event, Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

On their feet? The Nike Air Zoom Maxfly.

Released only this year, the track shoe is designed for 100 meter to 400 meter distances, with a full-length carbon fiber plate built into the sole. Carbon fiber plates in running shoes have been fraught with controversy for a couple of years now, ever since Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon under two hours in October 2019 while wearing a Nike Alphafly prototype. The sport's governing body, World Athletics, standardized rules on the use of this technology in July of last year, and more brands are incorporating it into their own high-end kicks.

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Nike Air Zoom Maxfly

Nike Air Zoom Maxfly detail close up

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In addition, the Air Zoom Maxfly has two Zoom Air chambers on the forefoot for even more springiness, as well as seven spikes.

You can find out more about this shoe in this video from Running Warehouse.

Before the Olympics, the Maxfly was released in "Rawdacious" colors of volt, crimson, and pink, just for the summer games.

The Maxfly apparently supersedes the Air Zoom Viperfly, announced back in February 2020 and touted by the Swoosh as a shoe that "represents a new paradigm of performance on the track." That shoe, however, did not meet the regulations of World Athletics. On that same month, Nike announced that it would be "working to modify the shoe for use", according to a report by The Guardian.

In July 19, before Tokyo 2020 kicked off, current world and Olympic record holder Usain Bolt — who did not compete this year — laughed off advances in spike technology.

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“I couldn’t believe that this is what we have gone to, you know what I mean, that we are really adjusting the spikes to a level where it’s now giving athletes an advantage to run even faster," he told Reuters.

Usain Bolt is a lifetime endorser of Puma.

In the United States, the Nike Air Zoom Maxfly is priced at $180 (around P8,900), but is currently sold out.

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PHOTO: AP
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