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Did Adidas Just Unveil the World’s Most Impressive Gym Shoe?

Equal parts first-class racer and strength training specialist, the Adizero Dropset Elite combines the best of the brand into one silhouette.

Rear view of an orange, black, and white Adidas running shoe against a purple background.Adidas
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By Hayley Helms

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Hyrox, the global indoor fitness race blending running with functional strength, has quickly spurred one of the fastest-growing trends in performance training.

With online searches up by 233 percent year over year and event attendance skyrocketing, it’s no surprise that major brands are (literally) jumping at the chance to release shoes fine-tuned to the demands of the competition.

While several notable hybrid sneakers have entered the running, none feel as compelling as Adidas’s upcoming racer, which fuses two of the brand’s most legendary shoes into one extremely capable design.

White and black athletic shoes with bright orange heel accents worn with white socks.
Built to excel in both functional movements and speed-focused runs, the Adizero Dropset Elite is Adidas’s first dual-purpose fitness racing shoe.
Adidas

Run it out

The Adizero Dropset Elite is built specifically for hybrid fitness racing.

It was developed for, and with input from, the burgeoning sport’s leading athletes, including two-time world champ Tim Wenisch, who debuted the shoe while securing victory in the Hyrox Elite 15 Male Singles at the Melbourne Major this past December.

Person wearing white Adidas socks and black-and-white athletic shoes standing between two black kettlebells with blue stripes on a gym floor.
Wearing the new Adizero Dropset Elite means athletes won’t have to compromise between speed or stability.
Adidas

The quiver killer is a combination of two of the Three Stripes most important innovations: Adizero and Dropset. Rather than having to choose between speed and stability, athletes can now tap into the best of both worlds as they chase the podium.

White and black Adidas Adizero running shoe with bright orange sole worn with white sock on a track.
The new shoe was developed through collaboration with leading athletes, including two-time Hyrox world champion Tim Wenisch and elite competitors including Graham Halliday, Ella Wilkinson, Fabian Eisenlauer, Jana Lebenstedt, and Jennifer Muir.
Adidas

Adidas is calling it a “new era of athletic performance” and based on the shoe’s early accolades, this phrase may be more than standard marketing exaggeration.

Function forward

The Adizero Dropset Elite is chock-full of innovation. First, there’s the Lightstrike Pro foam, borrowed from the Adizero range, which delivers lightweight construction and superior energy return.

Man in white sleeveless shirt and black shorts pushing weighted sled on gym turf.
The Continental rubber outsole boosts grip on various surfaces, including carpet.
Adidas

Then there’s Energy Rim, another proprietary Adidas technology borrowed from the brand’s Adizero Prime X Evo shoe that set the 100km record.

Energy Rim guides foot motion and delivers additional stability under the heel and rear foot … which is clutch in a race that includes stations like wall balls.

Woman in black sports bra and shorts with white socks and black-and-orange sneakers standing next to a black 6 kg medicine ball against a concrete wall.
The stability promoting Energy Rim comes in handy at challenging stations like wall balls.
Adidas

The high-traction Continental rubber outsole is designed specifically for hybrid races, hence the thin layer of the rubber applied in a diamond-pattern that enhances grip and control on various surfaces.

Woman in black sports bra and shorts doing a lunge exercise on an indoor court wearing white and orange Adidas sneakers.
The shoe’s geometry, influenced by both Adizero and Dropset models, is purpose-built to maximize biomechanical body position.
Adidas

The shoe’s geometry, which includes a 12mm heel drop, is built to promote better biomechanical body position, allowing athletes to move fluidly through stations like sandbag lunges.

Finally, the Footadapt sockliner — taken straight from the Dropset 4 — helps support the body’s movement by increasing foot awareness during both runs and functional stations.  

Availability and pricing

The Adizero Dropset Elite is set to release on March 18th on Adidas’s official website, retailing for $324.

About the Author: Hayley Helms is an associate editor at Gear Patrol specializing in outdoor gear. Once upon a time, she wrote for Men’s Journal, Gearjunkie and Shape. Whether it’s testing a new rain shell or putting a pair of hiking boots through its paces, she leaves no stone unturned (however, she always Leaves No Trace).

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