The shoes of the 2026 New York podium: Nike Apex, On Cloudboom Strike 2 LS and Xtep 160X 8.0 Pro
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The podium and the three shoes
The official results published by World Athletics give Andreas Almgren (Sweden) the win in 2:06:01, Yeman Crippa (Italy) second in 2:06:14 and Kamohelo Mofolo (Lesotho) third in 2:06:26, with Benson Kipruto fourth in 2:06:27, one second off the podium.1 GQ Italia attributes three different models to the three: the Nike Apex for Almgren, the On Cloudboom Strike 2 LS for Crippa (the same model he raced in Paris) and the Xtep 160X 8.0 Pro for Mofolo.2 The athlete-shoe pairings come from information released around the race, not from our own inspection of the footwear.
Nike Apex (Almgren)
We covered the Apex in a dedicated article: four Air Zoom units in two stacked pairs, ZoomX LT foam, a carbon Flyplate, a 40 mm zero-drop platform, on sale only from January 2027. One update since that piece: the entry "Apex" appears on the World Athletics approved shoe list as a standard model with road approval, without the expiry marker that identifies development shoes.5 The Alphafly 4, the other Nike model in that article, is listed with the same status.5
On LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2 (Crippa)
According to GQ, Crippa confirmed the model he had already chosen for Paris: a single-piece seamless LightSpray upper, Helion HF foam and a carbon Speedboard working with the CloudTec Sphere geometry.2 On On's Italian product page the shoe is listed as a 310 € limited edition including VAT, with a "super foam for maximum energy return" and a Speedboard for propulsion; On declares the model "tested with athletes for marathons and half marathons" and includes Elite Run Sock High Hyper socks in the box.3 These are manufacturer statements, not independent evidence. When we read the page on 3 November 2026, every size showed "Item unavailable".3
The World Athletics list contains both "Cloudboom Strike 2" and "LS Cloudboom Strike 2", each as a standard model with road approval; the closer match to the retail name "LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2" is the latter.5
Xtep 160X 8.0 Pro (Mofolo)
Per GQ, Mofolo's shoe carries a GT700 carbon plate and a midsole combining the proprietary ACE+ and POWER technologies.2 Xtep's official global page confirms the spec sheet: XTEP FIT Tech upper, XTEP ACE+ Tech and XTEP POWER Tech midsole with the GT700 plate, XTEP DURA Tech outsole, declared for "elite and professional runners" on track and road.4 Xtep declares the 160X series "helped 168+ athletes win 727+ marathon championships": a manufacturer count, not verifiable from here.4
Availability is the practical point: in the sources we consulted on 3 November 2026 no Italian retail channel emerged for this model (that is not proof none exists); in Europe the 160X 8.0 series is carried by Xtep's official Norwegian store, xtep.no.4 Compliance needs precision too: the World Athletics list contains both "160X 8.0 Pro" (standard model, road approval) and "160X-8.0Pro" (a development shoe valid until 12 March 2027).5 The names are nearly identical and race coverage does not specify the exact designation: we cannot attribute standard status to Mofolo's race shoe without further evidence.
What is only declared
Coming from the manufacturers, with no independent corroboration read by us: the "maximum energy return" and Speedboard "propulsion" quoted by On, the "tested with athletes" claim also from On, Xtep's "168 athletes, 727 titles" count, and the technical sheets of all three models.34 For the Nike numbers (up to +40% energy return, weight) see the dedicated piece: internal Nike source, no independent testing found. We have not read independent reviews of these models and we do not run our own tests.
What the results do not say
Three different shoes on one podium do not rank the models: the result belongs to the athletes, their preparation and the specific race. The same applies to Kipruto finishing one second behind Mofolo.1 For what studies say about carbon-plated shoes in general, and who they make sense for, see Carbon-plated running shoes; for the opposite case of a shoe outside the racing rules, see Puma Fast-RB Nitro Elite 2.
Limitations
- The athlete-shoe pairings come from GQ Italia: we did not directly verify the footwear the three raced in.2
- Italian price verified only for the On (310 € on On's Italian site); for the Xtep we have no Italian price, and the absence of a retail channel in our consulted sources does not prove national unavailability.3
- World Athletics list consulted on 3 November 2026: status can change; for the Xtep 160X 8.0 Pro the standard/development distinction remains unresolved for the specific race shoe.5
- No independent tests cited: WOLFLAB does not run laboratory testing on shoes.
Sources
- World Athletics, official 2026 New York City Marathon results. worldathletics.org. Read on 3 November 2026.
- GQ Italia, "Nike, On e Xtep, le tre scarpe da running che hanno vinto la maratona di New York", 2 November 2026. gqitalia.it. Read on 3 November 2026.
- On, "LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2", Italian product page. on.com. Read on 3 November 2026.
- Xtep, "160X8.0 PRO: Pace the Return", global product page. globalxtep.com. Read on 3 November 2026. European availability checked on xtep.no on 3 November 2026.
- World Athletics, approved shoe list (Certcheck, Full List). certcheck.worldathletics.org. Consulted on 3 November 2026.