Adidas always said that “impossible is nothing”. They may have ditched the slogan but at the 2026 London Marathon, the brand’s new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoe propelled Sabastian Sawe to achieve the seemingly impossible: he became the first human to break the two-hour time barrier for the 26.2 mile race.
The hype around Sawe’s win means that the £450 shoes, which had launched only a couple of days before, are already going for £4000 on the resale market. When everything aligns like this, press and social media do all the work. Adidas can sit back and recoup its sizeable investment in technology rather than spending money on advertising. The brand’s own posts have been admirably pared back, featuring Sawe, the 1:59:30 time, and the shoe. Nothing more needs to be said.
@adidas making history on a Sunday – 01:59:30 ? #sebastiansawe #sub2 #londonmarathon #running #EVO3
? AUTOMOTIVO TOMA CAVUCADA (Slowed) – DJ RICK 013 & DJ NK3 & MC LyC4N & MC RESTRITO ORIGINAL
Sawe’s performance was demonstrably not a one-off either, because Yomif Kejelcha also ran sub-two hours in the same shoe, and the women’s marathon was won by Tigist Assefa who set a women’s world record – also in the Adios Pro Evo 3. The shoe weighs in at just 99g.
Adidas ditched it’s long-running “impossible is nothing” slogan after 20 years for “you got this” in 2024 as part of a new strategy around taking the pressure off performance and leaning into belief and possibility. That belief has paid off in spades, and left Nike for dust.
