When Sabastian Sawe broke the two-hour barrier at the London Marathon, the spotlight quickly shifted from the stopwatch to his feet.
The Kenyan’s historic 1:59:30 run did more than reset the world record; it showcased the cutting edge of racing shoe technology, with Adidas’ new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 emerging as a central factor in the performance.
Moments after crossing the line, Sawe underlined that link himself. Pen in hand, he scribbled “1:59:30 WR sub 2” across the shoe and held it up to the cameras, an image that rapidly went global.
The timing was no accident. Released just days earlier on April 23, 2026, the Sh64,000 ($500) Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 is Adidas’ lightest racing shoe ever, tipping the scales at just over 97 grams. That extreme weight reduction, combined with a claimed 1.6 per cent improvement in running economy, points to the marginal gains that can decide elite marathons.
Compared to previous versions, the shoe is about 30 per cent lighter, a significant drop in a sport where efficiency is measured in fractions. Beneath the runner, Adidas introduced its next-generation Lightstrike Pro Evo foam, engineered to deliver higher energy return while remaining nearly 50 per cent lighter than earlier compounds.
The midsole is paired with a redesigned carbon system known as Energyrim, which integrates stiffness and propulsion while allowing for more foam underfoot. With a 39mm stack height, the setup is calibrated to maximise cushioning without sacrificing speed.
Even the upper has been stripped down to essentials, inspired by kitesurfing sails, with every stitch refined to reduce drag and weight. The outsole, meanwhile, balances grip and minimalism, ensuring traction at top speeds without adding bulk.
Adidas said the shoe went through more than a dozen prototypes, tested extensively with elite athletes in high-altitude camps across Kenya and Ethiopia, before arriving at the final design that Sawe debuted in London.
The immediate impact was visible beyond the race. Adidas shares rose two per cent following the performance, reversing part of an 18 per cent decline since January, as demand surged among runners and collectors eager to get their hands on the record-breaking model.
The result also reignited the long-running rivalry in marathon innovation. Eliud Kipchoge famously ran 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019 wearing a prototype from Nike, though that effort was not ratified due to controlled conditions. This time, Sawe’s mark stands as the first official sub-two-hour marathon, achieved in open race conditions.
Notably, the shoe’s impact was not limited to the winner. Ethiopian runner Yomif Kejelcha, also wearing the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, finished second in 1:59:41, becoming the second man to go under two hours in a competitive race.
For Adidas, the performance builds on a growing record of success. The earlier iteration of the model debuted in 2023 when Tigst Assefa set a women’s marathon world record in Berlin.
Sawe’s run now reinforces a broader shift in elite distance running, where engineering, materials science and biomechanics increasingly shape outcomes at the highest level.
His reward reflects that breakthrough. The Kenyan is set to earn approximately £263,000 (Sh45 million), combining the standard winner’s prize with bonuses for running under 2:02:00, setting a world record and breaking the London course mark.
But beyond the prize money and the time on the clock, the defining image remains the one he chose to create himself, a world record written not on paper, but on the shoe that may have made it possible.