On January 25, 1964, Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight founded Blue Ribbon Sports and launched their first store just 3 years later in California. Blue Ribbon Sports would ultimately become Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971, taking the name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
To mark the anniversary of the original launch of Blue Ribbon, Nike will officially unveil the ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT% Blue Ribbon Sports as a limited edition running shoe.
The white upper will feature scribbles relating to the past, such as the stores California address in Pico Boulevard, old shoe boxes, and other apparel such as race bibs.
Inspired by Nike’s initial launch as Blue Ribbon Sports
As with the Vaporfly 4%, the Vaporfly NEXT% Blue Ribbon Sports features the new Vaporweave found on the upper, which is lighter than the Flynit used on many other Nike shoes, absorbing considerably less water from rain or sweat to keep you dry over long distances. The claim is that an improvement of 4% in your running economy can be achieved if you shell out your hard-earned coin for a pair.
The upgrade to NEXT% represents looking forward to each new race day as a chance to cross the line faster. Because as Mo Farah recently said, “As an athlete, you’re always looking for that next percent.”
A little different from typical Nike styling. We like!
A foam pod within the heel provides Achilles support, while the laces are slightly offset to avoid irritation to the sensitive top part of a runner’s foot.
The NEXT% Blue Ribbon Sports also features ZoomX foam in the midsole, found in Nike’s own Sports Research Lab to further improve energy return. They also decreased the offset from 11mm to 8mm to offer a more stable feeling at the toe-off.
Finally, the custom sole patterns created for both Mo Farah and Kipchoge we merged to increase forefoot grip in wet weather.
You might also like: The Best Fitness Apps for Apple Watch >>
