How Nike is making footwear to improve athletes' efficiency for the Tokyo Olympics

Champions may be made in countless training hours, but championships, finals and even world title-representing gold medals are won in final seconds and millimeters through speed or accuracy and endurance in that final race, round or game.To that end, Nike introduced innovation-led products with proven performance-enhancing results for Tokyo 2020.By driving down into the minutiae of every Olympic event to find the best opportunities to improve design, the brand is ensuring its footwear directly caters to those crucial moments as much as athletes’ preparation for them.“We are innovating into the infinitesimal and little things that really matter,” John Hoke, Nike’s chief design officer, told me. Researchers have been able to pinpoint the moments during competition when athletes are operating from a place of need or fatigue, thus providing a direction for designers to functionally improve apparel and footwear.This resulted in a major focus on innovations for energy preservation and responsive technology.Additionally, with such significant advancements following the release of 2017’s Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite, elite runners have been returning to Nike sneakers en masse.In 2018, the addition of ZoomX foam and modern technology using carbon fiber plates allowed Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT% to increase running efficiency by 4%, making wearers actually see significantly faster times.However, this has raised questions about whether the shoes are offering an unfair advantage or are simply the most energy-efficient.The shoe’s cushy foam midsole embedded with a single carbon fiber plate is advertised as giving athletes “the sensation of being propelled forward.” By lowering the energy expenditure, runners reduce fatigue, resulting in faster times. Sprinting in short, court-length bursts for three to four miles results in the most fatigue toward the end of a 40-minute Olympic basketball game.Striving to provide a product for the most fundamentally proficient fourth quarter led the design team to the new Nike Air Zoom BB.“The goal is to get them to the final 15 seconds without a dropped step, that they haven’t lost any ability to get to the basket or get to the ball and to keep efficient shooting form so they’re in perfect shape at the very end,” Hoke shares.Nike React foam, which first launched in basketball sneakers in June 2017, is known for offering runners cushioning and energy return while being lightweight and maintaining durability.