On May 6, 2017, Nike announced the Nike Vaporfly 4% as part of the Breaking2 project and actually turned the world of competitive running shoes upside down.

carbon revolution

On May 6, 2017, Nike announced the Nike Vaporfly 4% as part of the Breaking2 project and actually turned the world of competitive running shoes upside down. Until this point, most professional athletes competed in minimalist shoes with thin soles, and the weight and comfort of the last were important factors in their choice. The Vaporfly took a completely new approach: the outsole was based on two fairly thick layers of soft, but very resilient ZoomX foam with high energy return, and a rigid carbon plate was placed between them, which added stability to the sneaker, and also gave extra elasticity. According to Nike research, this design allowed for a significant increase in running economy (up to 4%, hence the name of the model), which, in turn, should have contributed to the historic overcoming of the two-hour marathon milestone. For this purpose, a special race was held with the participation of the strongest runners, led by Eliud Kipchoge. To get as close as possible to the goal, all conditions were created, such as choosing a day with optimal weather for running, constantly changing pacers, access to food at any convenient time, a car with a huge screen to protect against wind and a projector showing the required pace. These facilities are in violation of IAAF's competition rules and, as such, a possible world record would not have been awarded, but that was not the main purpose of the event.

The first attempt of the cherished Breaking2 was unsuccessful, however, a fantastic result was recorded – two hours and twenty-five seconds. This was two and a half minutes faster than the official current world record. The official world record was also not long in coming and was set by Eliud Kipchoge at the Berlin Marathon a year later – 2:01:39. On his feet he still had the same Nike Vaporfly. Subsequently, the entire world elite of road running changed their shoes to shoes from this lineup, and the average result of world marathons increased dramatically. Of course, it’s unfair to say that shoes played the main role in the growth of results, but it’s also impossible to discount new models using a carbon plate.

The new construction of the shoe paid off, and the rest of the world's sports brands also began to develop their own models with a carbon plate – but with their own design and features, allowing runners to choose the most suitable model.

The Hoka One One brand was one of the first to introduce its version of carbon sneakers after Nike and in 2019 released two models at once – the Evo Carbon Rocket and Carbon X.