adidas makes race number 321 a symbol — all six major marathons reserve it

Sport idolizes iconic numbers — Michael Jordan's 23, Messi's 10, Gretzky's 99 — but those numbers have only ever stood for athletes inside the mainstream. adidas saw that neurodivergent athletes were missing from that symbolic language entirely, even though running is the world's most accessible sport. The brand had a perfect protagonist: Chris Nikic, the first athlete with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman and adidas' first globally sponsored athlete with Down syndrome.

For World Down Syndrome Day, adidas and FCB Canada launched Runner 321. The idea was to give an entire community its own iconic number: 321, because 95% of people with Down syndrome have trisomy 21 — three copies of chromosome 21 — which is also why the day is 03/21. The campaign asked the world's major marathons to reserve bib 321 for a qualifying neurodivergent athlete, and armed other races with a landing page and a toolkit of instructions and social posts so they could join.

The idea spread through the events themselves: cheering sections at mile 3.21 of the NYC and Boston marathons, a Fifth Avenue adidas store takeover, and Chris handing his bib to the next Runner 321, Kayleigh Williamson. All six World Marathon Majors — Boston, New York, Tokyo, London, Berlin and Chicago — reserved the number, four despite rival sportswear sponsorship, and 252 races and 278+ athletes signed on. The campaign took Best of Creative Effectiveness at the 2024 One Show and a Grand Prix at the AToMiC awards.