Sabastian Sawe: How Adidas Engineered a Shoe That Helped Break the Sub-Two-Hour Marathon Barrier

Sabastian Sawe’s London Marathon victory will be remembered not just for the record he set, but for the shoe that carried him into history, a revolutionary Adidas design that helped push the boundaries of what was thought possible in long-distance running.

History had been made, a legal sub-two-hour marathon finally achieved, when he crossed the finish line in 1:59:30. Sabastian Sawe did not just break the world record, he obliterated it, beating Kelvin Kiptum’s mark (2:00:35 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon) by more than a minute.

Yomif Kejelcha, coming home second, also ran under two hours, finishing just 11 seconds behind (1:59:41). Tigst Assefa lowered her own world record by nine seconds (to 2:15:41) in the women’s race.

One thing was common: All three athletes wore the same shoe, the Adidas Pro Evo 3.

The Pro Evo 3 is described by Adidas as its lightest and most advanced marathon shoe ever, delivering a 1.6% improvement in running economy compared to its predecessor.

Stephan Scholten, Adidas’ vice president of product in running, called the project driven by “unreasonable ambition” and said: “Actual magic.”

“What we’re trying to do is help athletes perform at their very best and achieve the impossible. In the truest sense, this is one of the few times when we could actually help do this,” he added, as quoted by The Athletic.

The shoe took over three years of development, with more than a dozen prototypes tested alongside elite athletes like Sawe and Assefa.

Scholten explained: “It’s always a very iterative process. We needed to change the geometry of our foam and the setup of the stiffening element.”

By refining the foam structure, Adidas reduced weight by 50% and increased forefoot energy return by 11%, while shifting to a carbon rim design for improved propulsion.

Former Adidas engineer Angus Wardlaw described the shoe as a breakthrough: “This product is engineered, as well as designed. This is the breakthrough.”

He compared it to a spring, highlighting its ability to compress and return energy efficiently under marathon fatigue conditions.

Wardlaw broke down its performance advantages: “The reason it’s the fastest in the world is it weighs less than 100g, it’s got super-high energy return, it’s super soft, so it’s got this vertical compression.”

The shoe also benefits from CNC-engineered foam, precisely cut for maximum efficiency without altering its natural structure.

Adidas confirmed the Pro Evo 3 is designed strictly for elite competition use, with a lifespan of just a couple of marathons.

“We’ve put the shoes through a very rigorous testing, but these are built for race day only,” Scholten said.

Despite criticism over sustainability and its $500 price tag, Adidas insists the shoe represents the cutting edge of performance innovation.

Adidas believes the Pro Evo 3 did not just help break records; it helped redefine what is physically possible in marathon running, combining elite athletes, precise engineering, and near-perfect race conditions to produce history.