NKE Nike Inc

By Sara Germano 

One of Nike Inc.'s elite runners was the first to cross the finish line at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, but his custom Nike sneakers barely made it half way before coming apart.

In an embarrassing display for Nike, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won the race but fell short of a world record after the neon-green insoles of his white running shoes unraveled an hour into the competition.

Mr. Kipchoge finished the race in 2 hours, 4 minutes--a personal best, but 63 seconds short of the world record, which was his goal for the day.

"It wasn't a good day for me in these shoes, although they're actually very good. I tested them in Kenya, but just had bad luck on the day. I had problems from the first kilometer," he said. "My goal was the world record but it wasn't meant to be today."

Mr. Kipchoge's insoles appeared to be slipping out of the back of his shoes by at least the 16-kilometer mark, or nearly 10 miles into the race, short of the halfway point, according to the official Berlin Marathon report.

Nike, which sponsors Mr. Kipchoge and made his shoes, didn't respond to a request for comment.

Faulty sportswear is an occasional headache for top athletes, and an issue that Nike, which was founded as a running-shoe company, has grappled with before.

In 1997, the laces on Kenyan John Kagwe's Nike running shoes came untied three times en route to his winning the New York City Marathon, though the malfunctions cost him a course record. Nike took responsibility and decided nonetheless to pay him the $10,000 bonus he was due if he had succeeded in setting the record.

To be sure, competing sportswear companies have also faced issues supplying gear to elite athletes. U.S. speedskaters said they believed their Under Armour-supplied suits slowed them down at the 2014 Olympics, where the team was shut out of the medals.

In Mr. Kipchoge's case, it isn't clear exactly how much time the faulty shoes might have cost him. Hopes of a world record in Berlin weren't futile: the men's field passed the halfway mark in 1:01:53, just a few seconds short of world record pace. The current world record of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 57 seconds was set last year in Berlin by Dennis Kimetto, also of Kenya.

It also is too soon to tell whether Mr. Kipchoge's performance Sunday will affect his possible inclusion in Kenya's Olympic marathon team next summer. Nations can put no more than three athletes in the event, which is particularly limiting for Kenya, whose athletes hold eight of the top 10 best marathon times in history. The nation's sport governing body, Athletics Kenya, typically chooses its Olympic team by committee, and a world record likely would have all but solidified Mr. Kipchoge's inclusion on the team.

Mr. Kipchoge's 2:04 on Sunday is still the fastest marathon time in the world so far this year.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 27, 2015 14:33 ET (18:33 GMT)

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