Allyson Felix’s quest for Olympic glory begins in early July at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for track and field. When the iconic sprinter steps on the track she will have the most cutting-edge technology Nike has to offer on her feet: custom 3D printed shoes.
Felix will be wearing the Nike Zoom Superfly Flyknit. These shoes are designed to fit her feet specifically. The sprinting spikes, which took two years of testing before they were perfected to fit the multiple Olympic medalists’ exact measurements was made possible because of 3D printing.
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3D printing is starting to become more common in the world of sports as we have covered here on many occasions, and the footwear industry is looking to stay on the cutting edge. It clearly appears that Nike is hoping to lead the charge as they often do.
Nike’s Sports Research Lab, with the help of many designers, was able to create track spikes that are completely unique. Felix and her coaches wanted a spike designed and built with fit, strength and flexibility in mind. Therefore the team at Nike designed the Superfly Flyknit to be very supportive, and extremely lightweight.
Felix’s new Superfly Flyknit spikes will feature a first in sprinting shoe technology, a spike plate that will cover three-quarter height. This advancement helps to support a much greater portion of the foot than a regular track and field sprinting spike does, allowing the user to have a more fluid and stable running motion.
In the sport of sprinting fractions of a second can mean the difference between winning gold and not qualifying. Therefore Nike and Felix did not cut any corners when designing and testing the Superfly Flyknit, in order to give her a unique competitive advantage on the track. The process began roughly two years ago and required 70 different iterations of the shoes’ upper portion, as well as 30 alterations to the spike plate.
Nike used the Selective Laser Sintering 3D printing process to help reduce the wait time in between design changes. Because the 3D printing allows for quick iterations the process was able to help shorten the time between Felix testing the newest changes to the shoe, from a couple of weeks to a couple of days. The accelerated timetable helped to create the completely personalized and technologically advanced shoe that Felix, Nike, and Team U.S.A. hope will help propel her to Olympic gold.
The VP Footwear Innovation at Nike, Tony Bignell, is very pleased with the product and hopes the best for Felix in her new Olympic journey. “We’re seeing faster times in practice, more efficiency through and exiting the curb as well as unprecedented feedback from Allyson. We cannot wait to see how she performs in the spike throughout the coming months.”
Other Olympic hopefuls will be using 3D printing technology this summer in Rio, but most of them will be on the Paralympic side. Therefore with the games roughly 80 days away, Felix and her new Nike Zoom Superfly Flyknits will soon be in the spotlight. If she does take home Olympic gold, she could help to jumpstart a race for 3D printed spikes.
“Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.”
Nike Zoom Superfly Flyknit pic.twitter.com/1VCLxamyOI
— Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) March 17, 2016