Nike Vaporfly

Vaporfly

In the mid-2010s, Nike launched a bold project to create the first ‘super shoe’, changing the sporting landscape forever. Called the Nike Vaporfly, its key feature was a carbon-fibre plate designed with the help of Geng Luo – a biomechanics expert who had learnt about the technology while studying under one of the scientists responsible for a similar adidas design. The German brand had stopped producing it, but Luo took what he knew to Nike, becoming part of the ambitious Breaking2 Project.

This endeavour was led by VP of Special Projects, Sandy Bodecker, and aimed to achieve the first sub-two-hour marathon. His team of experts designed the Vaporfly for Breaking2, but, even before the event, it was worn by the top three men at the 2016 Olympic marathon. Unfortunately, it failed to break the two-hour marathon barrier, but Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge came close, his outstanding performance showing the shoe’s potential.

The Nike Vaporfly looked unlike other running shoes, with a large midsole made from highly responsive ZoomX foam. Combined with the spoon-shaped carbon-fibre plate inside, this made it comfortable, stable and incredibly propulsive, and reportedly improved running efficiency by around 4%.

The Vaporfly 4% was released in July 2017, becoming an instant success. It dominated the World Marathon Majors, with Kipchoge winning the Berlin Marathon. Following this race, he met with visionary designer Virgil Abloh, who gifted him a customised Nike Vaporfly from his iconic ‘The Ten’ collection, earning the shoe even more fans.

In 2018, Nike introduced a lightweight Flyknit model whose upper was added to a prototype sole incorporating 15% more ZoomX, helping Kipchoge set a world record in Berlin. This became the ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT%, whose lower heel-toe offset and less-absorbent Vaporweave upper further enhanced running efficiency.

Following its 2019 release, Kipchoge broke his course record at the London Marathon ahead of two other Vaporfly-wearing runners, while Brigid Kosgei became the youngest winner of the women’s event before setting a world record in Chicago.

Some athletes began to complain that the Vaporfly gave an unfair advantage, so World Athletics restricted midsole height to 40mm and permitted just one carbon-fibre plate. Crucially, the Vaporfly remained legal, so Nike released the Vaporfly 2 in 2021, its engineered mesh upper offering more breathability, durability and comfort. Kipchoge wore it during his victories at the invitational NN Mission Marathon and the Tokyo Olympics, where he completed a podium of Nike Vaporfly athletes.

Despite the emergence of the Nike Alphafly, some athletes still preferred the Vaporfly, including Kelvin Kiptum, whose short, impactful career lasted just three marathons. In the Vaporfly, he recorded the fastest ever debut marathon in Valencia before beating Kipchoge’s London course record.

In 2023, Nike released the Vaporfly 3 as “an all-round racing shoe” with a more lightweight outsole, extra ZoomX foam for greater energy return, and an updated midsole geometry that delivered better comfort and stability.

The Nike Vaporfly was a pioneering running shoe that began a whole new era of distance running. While Eliud Kipchoge used it to push the limits of human achievement, Nike used it to push the boundaries of technology, creating a lasting legacy for the future of sport.