The 2025 Champs provided all the thrills and spills of any major global competition, if not moreso, thanks to the humid climes of the Japanese capital. We saw baking heat for many of the days of competition, and truly biblical rains for some sessions. A frenetic eight days in Tokyo wrapped up on the 21st September with the final event of the World Championships, the 4x100m relays.
There were upsets and unpredictable results galore. Many dominant favourites were dethroned, replaced by unexpected champions and medalists in many events.
But what about the brands that were most successful across the competition? Whose footwear ascended the rostrum most-often? We’ve done a dive into the results* to find out.
(*side-note, we’ve only stuck to the running events of 800m and above, due to our bias for running events and our lack of knowledge thereof in the sprints, throws, jumps and multis.)
Nike
By far and away, Nike were the dominant brand in the distance races. Their sponsored roster took home 19 medals of the 36 on offer, with seven of them being gold. They cleaned up on the Women’s 800m and Women’s 3000m Steeplechase podiums, claiming all three medals in both events. Beatrice Chebet’s two gold medals makes her Nike’s leading athlete of the champs. Out of the three British medals in the distance races, two of them were from Nike athletes: Georgia Hunter-Bell and Keely Hodgkinson.
However, the Swoosh failed to claim a medal on the roads, begging the question: has the original supershoe brand been overtaken by the competition?
Top shoe: ZoomX Dragonfly Elite track spike
Adidas
It sometimes seems like Adidas are always the bridesmaid to Nike. With five medals across the board, it was a moderate haul for “Der Marke mit dem drei Streifen”. Their stable of road running athletes made up the majority, claiming both marathon titles with Alfonce Simbu and Peres Jepchirchir and a silver for Tigist Aseffa in the women’s race too. In the 5000m, the everpresent, lanky force of Yomif Kejelcha – also known for road running – was narrowly beaten out for gold, but a fine silver for him added to their total. Marco Arop claimed the bronze in the 800, Canada’s only distance running medal of the champs.
Top shoe: Adios Evo Pro 2
ASICS
Next up are the home nation favourites, ASICS, who took four medals with them. Having a much-smaller stable of athletes, we’d think they’re pretty stoked with their medal collection. Gold came from Portugal’s Isaac Nader in the men’s 1500m in an awesome kick, then the Italian contingent made up the rest of them. Ilias “the Pirate” Aouani was a close third in the men’s Marathon, and Nadia Battocletti claimed a silver and bronze medal in the 10000m and 5000m respectively.
Top shoe: Metaspeed LD 2 spike
Puma
If you’d have asked me a decade ago if Puma would be a top contender for professional runners, I’d likely have chuckled at you. The German outfit have made a significant push back into the running space over the past few years, and it is clearly paying off, taking home three silver medals. Funnily enough, each medal of theirs was decided by the finest of margins, not least with Amanal Petros agonisingly missing the men’s Marathon title by 0.03sec!
Top shoe: Fast-R Nitro 3
Kiprun
The last brand to claim multiple medals (albeit through one athlete), is Kiprun. The French label have been a newcomer to the market of late, but have a growing force in their stable of mainly European-based athletes. The pick of the lot is the Frenchman Jimmy Gressier, who shocked the field to win the 10,000m and pick up a silver medal in the 5000m later in the week. The blistering home-straight kick in the 10 was one of the moments of the champs, any one of six men could have taken the win with 100m left, but Gressier gritted his teeth and outlasted them all. “I just love running” was his response to an interviewer after the win, asking him what motivates him to keep training for moments like this.
Interestingly, given the brand’s limited offerings on the racing-spike front, Gressier actually wore a pair of Adidas spikes with the logo removed… Sorry if we get you in trouble for pointing that out, Jim.
The next brands all claimed a medal apiece:
On
Perhaps one of the most viral moments of the champs was Kiwi Geordie Beamish’s fall in the heats of the men’s 3000m Steeplechase, taking a kick to the face before getting back to his feet and smoothly claiming a qualifying spot for the final. Surely it wouldn’t be a story book ending, would it? But with 100m to go, the fairytale looked poised to be written. Beamish stepped off the final hurdle just steps behind the (until now) dominant Soufiane El-Bakkali, then hit the gas, snatching the win just 10m from the line.
Top shoe: Cloudspike Citius
New Balance
Jake Wightman claimed the 1500m World Title back in 2022 in Oregon, blazing the last 150m like no one else in the field. Since then, he’s been very public about his injury struggles that left him sidelined from last year’s Olympics and much of the last two seasons. However, he returned to the track, quietly creeping further to the front of each race, progressively running faster with his tactical nous that has been a pillar of his success. Cue the night of the 1500m. 220m to go, Jake bolts to the lead, catching the field by surprise. Holding strong, he was just pipped to the post by the blazing Portuguese Nader, but Wightman finished with a stellar silver. He was the sole representative of New Balance’s medal rostrum, and the only British man to win a medal in the distance races.
Top shoe: SuperComp MD-X 3 spike
Saucony
The women’s marathon held the most surprising result of the Championship, perhaps even one of the most surprising results in World Champs history! Totally unheralded, a Uruguayan kit came storming into the Tokyo stadium, alone and unbeknownst to her until that moment, in third place. Julia Paternain made her lap of the track in disbelief, crossing the line and being told again “you finished third!”. Paternain, having grown up in the UK, studied in the US, but with Uruguayan parents, is now training in Arizona and running for Saucony. If you haven’t seen the video of the finish, you should watch it here.
Top shoe: Endorphin Elite 2
