New Delhi, December 23rd, 2021: Following one of the most unique seasons in elite road racing history, the adidas ADIZERO franchise is celebrating its most successful season to date.
This season over half (54%) of adidas athletes competing in the Top 50 elite races went on to win whilst wearing ADIZERO and in doing so, have broken seven World Records over the past 12 months.
At this year’s World Major Marathons adidas ADIZERO athletes crossed the finish line first six times, by an average of 27 seconds, and featured on the podium another six times. Notably Peres Jepchirchir went on to complete a Women’s first of a major marathon win and a marathon Gold Medal in the same season.
To celebrate and honor all the athletes that have achieved World Records, personal bests, and stood on podiums this season, adidas Running has curated a celebratory piece of content to highlight some of the best moments of the year – watch it at @adidasrunning.
Seven World Records Tumble
Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir set the tone for the future of the franchise when she went on to break the Women’s Only Half Marathon record not once but twice in Valencia and Prague. Kibiwott Kandie followed her form with a Half Marathon record of 57m:32s in Valencia.
Then at the ADIZERO: ROAD TO RECORDS race event held in September 2021 at the adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach, two World Records were smashed in the same day. A new Women’s Only 10km World Record, which had stood for 19 years, of 30m:01s was broken by the late Agnes Jebet Tirop and the Women’s Only 5km World Record, broken by Ethiopian Senbere Teferi, in a time of 14m:29s – a first record for the latest addition to the ADIZERO COLLECTION, the ADIZERO TAKUMI SEN 8.
2021 ended with two more records, one in Geneva broken by Kalkidan Gezahegne in the Women’s Mixed 10km in a time of 29m:38s and the other in Lille by Dawit Seyaum in the Women’s Mixed 5km in a time of 14m:41s.
ADIZERO athletes dominate in the 2021 World Major Marathons:
In Berlin, Guye Adola, wearing the ADIZERO ADIOS PRO 2, started the first of the five majors with a win, followed by Joceline Jepkosgei, also in the PRO 2, setting a World Leading time in London of 2h:17m:43s. In Boston adidas athletes Benson Kipruto and Diana Kipyokei, both in the ADIZERO ADIOS PRO 1, crossed the finish line first in the men’s and women’s races respectively to land the first double of the season.
That was quickly followed up in New York with Albert Korir winning the men’s race and Peres Jepchirchir crossing the line first, both in the ADIZERO ADIOS PRO 2 to follow in the footsteps of her idol Mary Keitany and win an Olympic Gold and a major marathon in the same year.
The future of the ADIZERO franchise looks bright
Alberto Uncini Manganelli, GM Running & Credibility Sports, adidas, explains: “We are incredibly proud of what all our road race athletes have achieved this season.
“It hasn’t been easy to navigate a season which has been condensed into an intense few months. Our teams have worked tirelessly to innovate and to provide our athletes with the very best product and support to unleash their maximum potential. Allowing them to focus on one single thing: winning.
“We have put countless hours into the development of the ADZIERO franchise and on innovations such as LIGHTSTRIKE PRO and ENERGYRODS. For it all to come together in a year that has seen seven marathon wins and seven World Records fall is a testament to all the hard work.
“However, what motivates our team is not just about hitting one number, or a time. It is about pushing the boundaries, to innovate, and help our athletes re-write history. The nature of how we work on the ADIZERO franchise fuels this way of thinking and we are already looking ahead to ensure future developments are ready to go for 2022 and beyond. We have ambitious targets for 2022 and we expect to meet them head on. From world records and more Major Marathon wins to great success for all our athletes who compete in races around the world.
“Try to keep up if you can – we will empower all our athletes to be even faster next year with the next generation of the adidas ADIZERO franchise.”
