A shoe-by-shoe analysis of the Chicago Marathon results shows a split picture between brands. Both champions, Amos Kipruto (2:01:09) and Hawi Feysa (2:13:33), wore the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, giving Adidas a clean sweep of the two winning spots. Three of the six podium places overall went to the shoe: Kipruto, the men's runner-up Tadese Bikila (2:02:56) and Feysa.
Nike took two podium places, both in the new Apex: Milkesa Mengesha was third in the men's race in 2:03:46 and Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei third among the women in 2:14:55. The remaining podium place belonged to Sharon Lokedi, who was second in 2:14:07 in an Under Armour Velociti Elite 3 SL, a version described in coverage as a development model. Across the six podium finishers, that is Adidas on 50 per cent, Nike on 33 per cent and Under Armour on 17 per cent.
Widening the view to the top five men and top five women changes the story. Nike shoes account for six of those ten finishers, split between the Apex and the Alphafly 4: Mengesha, Jacob Kiplimo (2:04:18), Boki Diriba (2:05:01) and Kosgei in the Apex, and Mary Ngugi-Cooper (2:17:23) and Joan Jepkosgei Kilimo (2:18:39) in the Alphafly 4. Adidas had three of the ten and Under Armour one, with Lokedi the lone representative of her brand.
The leading Americans were seventh overall in their respective races. Clayton Young ran 2:05:23 in the Brooks Hyperion Elite 6, and Emma Grace Hurley ran 2:20:47 on her marathon debut in an Asics Metaspeed Edge prototype. Their results illustrate how the field remains diverse beyond the two largest brands, even as the fastest times cluster in a handful of models. As with any such tally, it measures what elite athletes chose to wear, which is influenced by sponsorship contracts as well as by performance.
The timing matters for consumers. Adidas is due to restock the Adios Pro Evo 3 on 29 October in very limited numbers at around $500, and Nike's Alphafly 4 reaches a wider release on the same date at $280. Chicago has now given both brands a high-profile result to point to ahead of the New York City Marathon on 1 November, where the same shoes are expected to feature heavily at the front of the elite fields.