adidas builds an adaptive running shoe with Down syndrome athletes — Cannes Innovation GP

For years adidas ran with Chris Nikic, the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman. His feet — like those of roughly 60% of people with Down syndrome, according to research with the Canadian Down Syndrome Society — simply didn't fit any running shoe, so running meant pain, blisters and early retirement from the sport. The brand's answer was not a one-off adapted model but a three-year co-creation project: the Supernova Rise 3 Adaptive, its first performance running shoe designed adaptive-first.

TBWA\Canada (formerly FCB Canada) had worked with the Down syndrome community since 2015, and brought that relationship to the process. Athletes, wheelchair users, people with chronic illness, mobility challenges and limb differences — including Paralympians Tracy Otto and Haven Shepherd — joined inclusive-design partner GAMUT Management in focus groups and at adidas' Herzogenaurach factory. Six prototypes produced features like an easy step-in heel, magnetic pull loops, a low-pressure lacing system, tactile chevron prints and a wider fit, built from lived experience.

The shoe launched on 21 March 2026, World Down Syndrome Day, in 29 countries at the same price and through the same channels as any adidas running shoe — deliberately not positioned as a special or niche product. Jury president Kazuhiro Shimura described the difference: adidas did not create the shoe for athletes with Down syndrome, it created it with them, opening up an opportunity to run.

The project won the Cannes Lions 2026 Innovation Grand Prix, two Golds and one Silver, and 42% of US website purchasers of the shoe were first-time adidas buyers — evidence that inclusive design did not narrow the audience but widened it.