Adidas Athletes Set 12 Records at the 2024 Road To Records Event

Records on Roads

As they say, records are made to be broken. And if you’re gonna try and break them, you may as well bundle up some races on your own home turf for the greatest shot at success.

Which is why, since 2021, Adidas has hosted the annual “Adidas Adizero: Road to Records” event at the brand’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The fourth edition of the event took place on April 30 as Adidas athletes from around the globe gathered to race a variety of distances, with the hopes of penciling their own names into the record books.

As a whole, they were quite successful. Despite less-than-ideal conditions (thanks to a warm day under clear and sunny skies), the event saw 12 records reset, including a new world record in the men’s 1-Mile race, two U20 World Records in the 5km race and 1-mile respectively, and nine national records.  

Here’s how it works. Adidas sets up a certified course on its campus at the global headquarters. Sponsored athletes come from all over the world to compete in distances ranging from one mile to 10K. This year, athletes wore the all-new Adidas Adizero Takumi Sen 10, a lightweight speed shoe meant for 10K-and-under distances. With EnergyRods 2.0 made from partially recycled glass fiber and a bouncy-yet-responsive Lightstrike Pro midsole, the Takumi Sen is a snappy shoe with a quick turnover, ideal for getting the job done in middle distance races. You can read our full review of the shoe here.

In addition to the all-new colorway of the Takumi Sen 10, athletes also wore the limited-edition Road to Records race kits which boast a distinctive leopard print design, in a mix of bright colorways with distinctive accents. The same pattern can be found on the Adios Pro 3, available now at adidas.com.

After all was said and done, when all distances were run, the records that fell were both diverse in distance and specificity.

According to Adidas, in its inaugural year for the distance, the 1-mile race was off to a history-making start with a new world record set by Emmanuel Wanyonyi in the men’s race, who finished in 3:54:50. In the same race, Ryan Mphahlele set a new national record for South Africa in 3:56.4, while Collins Kibiwott Koech set a new U20 world record in 4:00.10.

In the women’s 1-mile race, Emine Hatun Tuna Mechaal set a new national record for Turkey in 4:41.40, while Alexandra Bell set a new national record for England in 4:32:60. 

In the 5K women’s race, Medina Eisa set a groundbreaking pace, maintaining the lead until finish, breaking the U20 World Record in a time of 14:38. At just 19 years old, Medina secured back-to-back victories at Adizero: Road to Records in the 5K distance.

Aside from the new U20 World Record – several national records were broken too. Anastasia Marinakou set the fastest time for Greece, finishing in just 15:50, taking 26 seconds off her PB.

On the men’s side, in the 5K race, Thierry Ndikumwenayo set a new record for Spain in 13:17 and Shim JongSub gained a new record for Korea in 15:29. 

In the men’s 10K race, Yeman Crippa set a new Italian national record of 27:08. On the women’s side of the 10K, Agnes Jebet Ngeticht took to the roads just weeks after breaking the world record in Valencia. She sealed her title as the world’s leading female road competitor as she took the win in just 30:03. The women’s 10k race also saw Karoline Grovdal set a new national record for Norway in 30:52, while Joan Chelimo broke Romania’s national record in 30:52 – taking 29 seconds of her personal best.

You can watch a recap of the entire event below.