Nike Victory

Victory

The Nike Victory was first introduced as a lightweight middle-distance running spike back in 2008. Over the following decade, it underwent various updates, and in the early 2020s, the series was revamped with powerful new technologies.

The original Victory was ultra-lightweight, with innovations like dissolvable thread being used to cut every possible gram. An early proponent of Flywire cables, it also introduced a heel hole that secures the foot, reduces pressure and drops weight. Before its release, athlete Alan Webb proved the Nike Victory’s effectiveness, wearing it to run the fastest mile by an American, and Bernard Lagat backed this up with 1,500m and 5,000m golds at the 2007 World Athletics Championships.

In the following decade, Nike released two more iterations before completely redesigning the Victory for the Tokyo Olympics. Its lightweight AtomKnit upper moulds snugly around the foot and offers resistance to water absorption along with excellent breathability. Notched laces combine with the trademark heel hole to provide secure lockdown, while the thin tongue and minimal collar padding ensure the lightest design possible and the roomy forefoot gives space for the toes. Its sole incorporates a dual-chamber forefoot Zoom Air unit with a larger medial side for extra stability. Responsive ZoomX foam cushions the midfoot, heel and toe, harmonising with the stiff, full-length carbon-fibre plate above to generate powerful propulsion. Beneath the forefoot is a durable outsole plate with six removable spikes which, as well as maximising energy return, offers outstanding primary traction. Rippling tread lines add secondary grip, while the heel features minimal lugs to prioritise forefoot strikers. Like its predecessors, the revamped Nike Air Zoom Victory achieved great things as Athing Mu, Emmanuel Korir and Faith Kipyegon all won middle-distance Olympic titles while wearing it.

Nike released the Victory 2 in time for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, furnishing it with improvements to speed, stability and security. Prototypes were tested by top athletes like 800m superstar Keely Hodgkinson, whose comments informed its updated sole. This has a more durable, four-spike outsole plate with a wide, flat area through the midfoot and a raised platform beneath the big toe to improve stability, especially when cornering. The carbon-fibre plate has been reshaped to match, with a new formulation that is more lightweight and responsive. Secondary traction comes from miniature rounded nodules on the TPU plates of the forefoot and heel, while midfoot containment cables and minimal reinforcements on the heel and toe of the AtomKnit upper deliver added structure for better lockdown without sacrificing breathability or weight.

During its development phase, Nike athletes broke five world records in the Victory 2, and it excelled in Paris, where Hodgkinson wore it to win 800m gold. Meanwhile, Kenyan athletes Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet took gold in the 1,500m and 5,000m respectively, and Cole Hocker emerged victorious from a dramatic men’s 1,500m race.

With its ultra-lightweight design and highly responsive, cutting-edge sole, the Nike Victory is one of the fastest middle-distance track spikes ever created.