Nike Marathon Stunt Fails to Break Two-Hour Barrier
Nike
Inc.'s attempt to stage the first sub-two-hour marathon fell just
short Saturday, a rare marketing miss for the world's largest
sportswear maker.
Eliud
Kipchoge, the reigning Olympic marathon champion, finished the
company-controlled race in two hours, 25 seconds--more than two
minutes better than the current world best. Still, his mark likely
won't be ratified as a world record, since Nike didn't obey
regulations on pacing and hydrating in its race. Two other runners,
Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia and Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea, fell out of
contention early and finished several minutes behind.
Nike is the world's largest sports brand by revenue, though it has been struggling with sales in North America, its home market, amid a changing retail environment and a shift away from technical shoes toward more casual sneakers. That shift has favored Adidas, which this week reported a 31% jump in sales in the region for its most recent period. Nike spends more than $3 billion each year on so-called demand creation expenses, which includes marketing and endorsement costs. In an interview with Runner's World published this week, Mr. Parker wouldn't quantify how much the company spent on the marathon race, saying it was expensive but "it's not like we're reckless sailors." It isn't clear what is next for the three runners, who skipped the lucrative spring marathon season to focus on the Nike race. Jos Hermens, an agent representing Mr. Kipchoge, said in an interview last week that anything slower than the current world record "would be a failure." It is the third time Mr. Kipchoge has fallen short when chasing a time goal, including at the Berlin Marathon in 2015 when the insoles of his Nike shoes fell apart and caused him to miss the world record by 63 seconds.
Sources :- News. MorningStar
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