Beijing in Focus: Beijing Medal Winning Shoes, Report by Cregg Weinmann, Note by Larry Eder

This project was done by Cregg Weinmann, during the ten days of Olympic Track & Field. Using the poor TV coverage of NBC, Cregg also used email, photographs and questions with the major players to give you, our readers, a bird’s eye view of the footwear and apparel marketing wars….apparel piece will be next up!

Beijing Medal Winning Shoes
The pitched battle for Olympic supremacy in Track and Field footwear raged in Beijing with a ferocity to match any of the previous editions of the quadrennial spectacle. Some performances define the competition on the track, and the chances taken by the footwear companies to sign the best talent possible is reflected in the results. Though there were other brands present on the track, field, and road, only seven brands made it to the medal stand for the individual medals – the relay members, up to six through the rounds and finals, created problems in confirming the shoe brands for each member on the medal winning teams. The multitude of video and still photographers from the event created a helpful record for identifying the footwear being worn.
Men
100 Usain Bolt (Puma), Richard Thompson (Nike), Walter Dix (Nike)
200 Usain Bolt (Puma), Shawn Crawford (Nike), Walter Dix (Nike)
400 LaShawn Merritt (Nike), Jeremy Wariner (adi), David Neville (Nike)
800 Wilfred Bungei (adi), Ismail Ahmed Ismail (Nike), Alfred Kirwa Yego (adi)
1500 Rashid Ramzi (Nike), Asbel Kipruto Kiprop (NIke), Nicholas Willis (Reebok)
5000 Kennenisa Bekele (Nike), Eliud Kipchoge (Nike), Edwin Soi (Reebok)
10,000 Kennenisa Bekele (Nike), Sileshi Sihine (Nike), Micah Kogo (Nike)
110H Daryan Robles (adi), David Payne (Nike), David Oliver (Nike)
400H Angelo Taylor (Nike), Kerron Clement (Nike), Breshawn Jackson (Nike)
Steeplechase Brimin Kipruto (adi), Mahiedine Mekhissi-B. (adi), R. Mateelong (adi)
Marathon Samuel Wansiru (Nike), Jaouad Gharib (adidas), Tsegay Kebede (Nike)
20k Walk Valeriy Borchin (adi), Jefferson Perez (ASICS), Jared Tallent (ASICS)
50k Walk Alex Schwazer (ASICS), Jared Tallent (ASICS), Denis Nizhgorodov (Mizuno)
LJ Irving Saladino (Nike), Khotso Mokoena (Mizuno), Ibrahim Camejo (adi)
TJ Nelson Evoira (adi), Phillips Edowu (adi), Leevan Sands (Mizuno)
HJ Andrey Silnov (Nike), Germaine Mason (Nike), Yaroslav Rybakov (Nike)
PV Steve Hooker (Reebok), Evgeny Lukyanenko (adi), Denys Yurchenko (ASICS)
Shot Tomasz Majewski (Reebok), Christian Cantwell (Nike), Andrei Mikhnevich (Nike)
Discus Gerd Kantor (Nike), Piotr Malachowski (adi), Virgilijus Alekna (Nike)
Hammer Kozmus Primoz (Nike), Vadim Devyatovskiy (Nike), Ivan Tsikan (Nike)
Javelin Andreas Thorkildsen (adi), Ainars Kovals (adi), Tero Pitkamaki (ASICS)
Decathlon Bryan Clay (Nike), Andrei Krauchanka (adi), Leonel Suarez (adi)
Women
100 Shelly-Ann Fraser (Nike), Sherone Simpson (Nike), Kerron Stewert (Nike)
200 Veronica Campbell Brown (adi), Allyson Felix (adi), Kerron Stewart (Nike)
400 Christine Ohurugu (adi), Shericka Simpson (Nike), Sanya Richards (Nike)
800 Pamela Jelimo (Nike), Janeth Jepkosge (adi), Hasna Benhassi (adi)
1500 Nancy Jebet Langat (Nike), Iryna Lishchynska (adi), Nataliya Tobias (Nike)
5000 Tirunesh Dibaba (Mizuno), Elvan Abeylegesse (adi), Meseret Dafar (Mizuno)
10,000 Tirunesh Dibaba (Mizuno), Elvan Abeylegesse (Nike), Shalane Flanagan (Nike)
100H Dawn Harper (Nike), Sally McClellan (adi), Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (New Balance)
400H Melaine Walker (Nike), Sheena Tosta (Nike), Tasha Danvers (Nike)
Steeplechase G. Galkina-Samitova (Nike), Eunice Jepkorir (Nike), Y. Volkova (Nike)
Marathon Constantina Tomescu (ASICS), C. Ndereba (Nike), Z. Chunxia (Nike)
20k Walk Olga Kanaskina (adi), Kjersti Tysse Platzer (ASICS), Elisa Rigaudo (Nike)
LJ Mauren Higa Maggi (Nike), Tatyana Lebedeva (Nike), Blessing Okagbare (Nike)
TJ Francois Mbango-Etone (Nike), Tatyana Lebedeva (Nike), Hrysopiyi Devetzi (adi)
HJ Tia Hellebaut (ASICS), Blanka Vlasic (adi), Anna Chicherova (Nike)
PV Yelena Isinbayeva (adi), Jen Stucinski (adi), Svetlana Feofanova (Nike)
Shot Valerie Vili (Nike), Natalia Mikhnevich (adi?), Nadzeya Ostapchuk (Nike)
Discus Stephanie Brown Trafton (Nike), Yarelis Barrios (adi), Olena Antenova (Nike)
Hammer Aksana Miankova (Nike), Yipsi Moreno (adi), Wenxiu Zhang (Nike)
Javelin Barbora Spotakova (Nike), Maria Abakumova (Nike), Christina Obergfoll(ASICS)
Heptathlon Nataliia Dobrynska (ASICS), Hyleas Fountain (Nike), Tatiana Chernova (Nike)
Olympic Medal Winning Footwear
GOLD
Nike 23
adidas 10
ASICS 4
Mizuno 2
Puma 2
Reebok 2
SILVER
Nike 21
adidas 18
ASICS 3
Mizuno 1
BRONZE
Nike 28
adidas 5
ASICS 4
Mizuno 3
Reebok 2
New Balance 1
TOTAL MEDALS
Nike 72
adidas 33
ASICS 11
Mizuno 6
Reebok 4
Puma 2
New Balance 1

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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