To help legendary runner Faith Kipyegon achieve her goal of running a sub-4-minute mile (1,6km), Nike has created a 3D printed sports bra, and a featherweight spike that turns the dial on innovative features up to 11.
The Nike designers’ mission for Kipyegon’s kit seemed simple: Create the most aerodynamic speed suit in running history.
Aerodynamics is a critical factor in Kipyegon’s attempt. At full sprint, she’ll be running 15 miles per hour. As the air hits her body, she’ll be pulled back as the air whips around her, building pockets of air, or eddies, behind her.
The Nike Fly Suit
The Nike Fly Suit aims to fight these forces. The one-piece apparel solution features a headband and arm and leg sleeves featuring sleek, stretchy materials designed to help Kipyegon stay “slippery” to move through the air as efficiently as possible.
The material used on the headband, arm sleeves and leg sleeves is lighter than that on the suit, which covers Kipyegon from below the neck to just about the knee. As apparel gets further away from the body’s center of gravity, keeping it lightweight becomes even more important to help Kipyegon conserve her energy. Plus, aerodynamic materials perform differently depending on their location across the body.
The sports bra
For enhancing sports performance, a typical sports bra has its drawbacks: It can hold more moisture to the body compared to other articles of clothing. The “thermal burden” associated with a normal sports bra can also be ruinous, even for an event as short as a mile. These considerations struck the Breaking4 design team, along with the fact that Kipyegon’s Fly Suit material was made to be as sleek as possible. It was critical that a sports bra not add another unnecessary heat source.
For the attempt, Kipyegon will wear a new, one-of-one bra made of Nike FlyWeb, a 3D-printed TPU material optimized for moisture management, better than any typical textile. The bra’s racerback style provides more range of motion, and the computationally designed form features a dynamic, precision-tuned surface that’s denser in some places for higher support.
“This 3D-printed material innovation represents something entirely new on a visual and visceral level,” says Janett Nichol, VP, Nike Apparel Innovation. “Sports bras have never looked or felt like this before. The material is soft, light and incredibly supportive — yet it also feels like you’re not wearing anything at all. We know Faith’s bringing everything she has to achieve this goal, so we knew Nike FlyWeb had to be part of our contribution.”
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