Nike unveils US Olympic track and field gear
Nike athletes, including Lauryn Williams, premiered Nike’s USA track and field uniforms, which will be worn by members of the 2008 Olympic Team, in the presence of 20,000 fans at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field during the US track and field Olympic trials.
The uniforms feature new Nike Swift materials, reducing weight to offer less drag and faster times, and also feature Nike Aerographics. With seven percent less drag than the Athens version, wearing the new Nike Swift Suit translates to a benefit of approximately 0.02 seconds in the 100 metres.
Its Swift System can be customised and even includes socks, gloves and arm coverings to help athletes run faster. The gloves and arm coverings have dimpled fabrics similar to a golf ball to cut wind resistance and allow arms to slice through the air faster. In testing, the design team found that compared with bare skin, the gloves and arm coverings reduce drag by 19% and the socks by 12.5%.
The footwear offering includes Nike’s new Flywire technology. Kara Goucher and Bernard Lagat will perform in the Zoom Matumbo, the firm’s lightest distance track spike. Mr Lagat will also wear the Zoom Victory Spike, currently Nike’s lightest middle distance track spike.
Athletic footwear innovations will also be available to consumers in the LunaRacer+, LunarTrainer+, Zoom Victory+, Zoom Matumbo and Zoom Victory Spike.
