It didn’t take long, but adidas have joined the world of knitted running shoes with the announcement of their adiZero Primknit to be released in the UK this Friday.

With Nike having announced their FlyKnit technology back in February, we now see adidas join the proverbial race. It’s an interesting move that has two significant cultural effects in the running and sneaker worlds; it means that Nike don’t have this technology as exclusively as they would like and that knitted footwear is most definitely the future of speed running, as both giants have now given it their stap of approval.

Being an Olympic sponsor, adidas are able to take advantage of their position with this release and have created only 2012 pairs of this first drop. It’s nice to see adidas really getting stuck into the Olympics and creating a pop-up store on Newburgh Street where all 2012 individually numbered pairs will be available, making this an impressive UK exclusive.

Anyone who follows the development of running sneakers will already be well read on the advantages of a knitted shoe, but for those less familiar, let me explain. The shoe if created from knitted fused yarn, allowing for a singular upper that has no stitching whatsoever. Pretty cool. The really impressive bit is when you start thinking details – by digitally knitting the shoes, the knit can be tighter and looser in incredibly specific areas, enabling the shoe to have different structural support for your foot exactly where it is needed. All of this also makes for a naturally simple ventilation system as their is no liner to the shoe.

As I said before, it is clear that knitted fused yard technology is now at the forefront of the running industry and won’t be budging for a little while.

If you are fortunate enough, you can get your hands on a pair of these from 10 Newburgh Street when they drop this Friday (27th July). They will be sold until 12th August, but they’ll most likely sell out before then.