Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe set a historic men’s marathon world record at the 2026 London Marathon, becoming the first athlete to run an official marathon in under two hours with a time of 1:59:30, closely followed by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in 1:59:41 and Tigist Assefa, also from Ethiopia, who achieved a women-only world record of 2:15:41. All three athletes competed wearing Adidas’ new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, described as the lightest model in the Adizero range at around 97 grams and launched in a limited release at a price of 500 dollars per pair.
The outstanding performance of these runners, combined with the visibility of the London Marathon, immediately translated into a positive reaction in financial markets, as Adidas shares rose nearly 2% in early Frankfurt trading before stabilizing at a 1.4% gain around 138 euros per share, despite the company’s stock remaining down more than 18% for the year due to issues such as United States tariffs, weaker sales in the Middle East, and intense competitive pressure in the sportswear industry.
For analysts at Deutsche Bank, these marathon victories represent “an important milestone for a successful rebuild of their running franchise” and help consolidate the brand’s sporting credibility in a key and expanding category. The success in London also offers symbolic redemption after years marked by financial losses tied to the failed collaboration with Ye (formerly Kanye West), even as recent popularity of Samba and Gazelle sneakers had already begun to repair Adidas’ image among consumers.
As highlighted in comments from Adidas executives, the records achieved by Sawe and Assefa are presented as proof of long-term investment in research and development, and the main challenge now is to convert this marketing boost into sustained demand among both club-level and casual runners.
Reference
Ziady, H. (2026, April 27). Adidas share price boosted by new world record in London Marathon. CNN Business. https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/27/business/adidas-share-price-london-marathon-intl