Usain Bolt: Olympic Champion Gives Puma the Ultimate Golden Moment

Gold Laces, Uppers and Soles of Bolt’s Puma Theseus Spikes

When Usain Bolt held up his golden running shoes for the crowd and cameras after his historic 100m victory, the Jamaican sprinter created an iconic image to saturate the media and go down in the history books. To say they’re a little flashy is like saying Bolt can run at a decent lick.

Bolt’s domination of his rivals fulfilled his pre-race tag as ‘favourite’, but for Puma, the German sportswear manufacturer whose Theseus II spikes he was wearing, it a signaled a priceless marketing coup. The kind of blockbuster endorsement a shoe company simply can’t put a price tag on.

Puma came to Beijing nowhere near rivals Nike and Adidas in terms of market value, trailing in the number of Olympic athletes contracted to wear its apparel, and behind in the race for a share of the lucrative Chinese market. But Puma does have Bolt, who goes for two more ‘golds’ this week. The sight of the fastest man alive lapping up the crowd’s adulation in what may have been the most watched sporting moment of the year gives Puma a marketing kick that outruns its rivals in a pinch.

The 100m final was billed as a showdown between Bolt, his fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, the US world champion, who failed to qualify for the race. But with Bolt signed to Puma, Powell with Nike and Gay with Adidas, it was more than just an athletic race. It was the ultimate footwear wars showdown.

As a driver of sportswear sales, the Olympic 100m final is on a level above most other sporting events. There’s huge competition to sign the current crop of talented Jamaican sprinters. Bolt’s victory is the second blow at these games for Adidas and Nike. The first was the thrilling sight of Li Ning, China’s former Olympic champion gymnast, circling the roof of the Bird’s Nest stadium to light the Olympic flame.

It was more chilling than thrilling for Adidas, official Olympic sponsor and linked to Yao Ming, China’s basketball star, and Nike, as they watched Li, the founder of the eponymous Chinese sportswear company, pulling off one of the more brazen acts in the history of ambush marketing.

Jamaica’s Asafa Powell was pumping to catch up in his Nike Zoom Aerofly spikes. On Saturday, he finished fifth, a long, long way behind Bolt. For the best prices on Puma, Nike, Reebok and Adidas - visit the only shoe-specific comparison shopping engine online, Shoecompare.com.


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August 19, 2008 | Filed Under CELEBRITIES, SHOE TYPE 

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