What running shoes do pro triathletes use?
What running shoes will pro triathletes wear in the 2026 season? We find out…
The world of pro triathlon is a relentless pursuit of marginal gains, where every piece of equipment is scrutinised for its potential to shave precious seconds off race times. Among the most crucial elements of a triathlete’s arsenal are their running shoes.
Elite running shoes are meticulously engineered tools designed to maximise run efficiency, energy return, and speed. These days, super shoes have some hefty tech, and it’s continually evolving.
Understanding what running shoes the pros are choosing offers an insight into the pointy end of tri, and act as great endorsements if you’re looking for a super speedy triathlon race day running shoe.
Most of the pros have shoe sponsors but beyond simple brand loyalty, the selection of a running shoe at the elite level involves a complex interplay of factors.
Course conditions, individual biomechanics, preferred cushioning levels, and the course distance all contribute to which shoe the athletes may choose.
Casper Stornes (Nor)
Casper Stornes, the 2025 men’s Ironman World Champion, has raced in different running shoes this year.
To set a scorching run split on his way to victory in Nice, he wore the Asics MetaSpeed Ray, one of the lightest race shoes on the market.
However, at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Marbella, he switched to the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2.
This is said to be more cushioned and stable than the MetaSpeed Ray, yet still light. At $500, few running shoes cost more.
Alex Yee (GBR)
Four-time Olympic medallist Alex Yee is sponsored by New Balance and races in the carbon-fibre New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5 ($249.99/£260). We actually tested the earlier SuperComp v3 and rated them 91% for their great stability, agility, and incredible speed.
Yee, who has proved himself to be one of the best short-course runners in triathlon, completed the London Marathon in the top 15 in 2025.
Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA)
In February current Olympic champion Beaugrand wore the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 ($250/£220) to take the French national record for the 5km distance, with a new time of 14min 53sec.
Though Adidas say they’re best suited to distances of over 12mi / 20km, Beaugrand smashed the national record in the carbon-plated, rockered shoes.
The record-breaking shoe was also worn by Patrick Lange when he took the Ironman world title.
The super lightweight Adios (7oz / 200g for UK8.5) has a 39/33mm stack and a Continental rubber outsole for complete traction.
Hayden Wilde (NZ)
In February of this year, Wilde announced he was parting ways with long-time sponsor Nike. He’d been running in Nike shoes for the past 10 years, donning the whippy Nike Alphafly 3 ($285/£284.99) supershoe for the Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Taupo last year in his home country.
In the past, Wilde has also been known to use the Nike Invincible 3 ($180/£174.99) cushioned road shoe for his training runs.
Starting as he means to go on, Wilde took the tape at the first WTCS race of the year in Abu Dhabi in a new pair of Asics kicks. The brand recently announced these are the new $300 / £265 Metaspeed Ray, a lightweight racer with a 39.5-34.5mm stack and 5mm drop.
Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR)
Like her compatriot Yee, Georgia Taylor-Brown races in the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite V5 ( Taylor-Brown has recently been dabbling in cross country racing, using the New Balance FuelCell XC7 V5 ($69.99/£90) racing spikes for the 8km 2025 National XC Championships.
Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR)
Previous Ironman and Olympic champion, Kristian Blummenfelt is known for pushing the boundaries of the impossible when it comes to triathlon and endurance.
On socials, he’s a big supporter of On Running shoes and has been part of the early development process of the new racing supershoe.
Blummenfelt has worn On Cloudboom Strike LightSpray ($330 / £260) this season while topping the Ironman Pro Series and breaking his own Frankfurt course record.
The ultra-cushioned Strike is designed for triathletes, being easy to pull on in transition with its lace-free, second skin fit. The shoe is currently advertised as ‘for members only’ on the On Running website.
Otherwise, Blummenfelt has worn various On shoes in training, including the Cloudsurfer ($110/£120) and the Cloudboom Echo 3 ($160/£150).
Other triathlon stars race in On shoes. Solveig Løvseth ran to 2025 Kona victory in the Cloudboom Strike, the same model that Jelle Geens donned to win the 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
Gustav Iden wears the Cloudboom Echo 3 like his training partner Blummenfelt.
Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR)
Previous Ironman world champion and all-around long-course star, Lucy Charles-Barclay runs in Asics shoes for all her racing and training.
For training, it’s the Asics Gel Kayano 31 ($165/£180), while she takes to the trails in the Asics Metafuji Trail ($250/£220).
Meanwhile, for the racing Charles-Barclay prefers the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris ($250/£260) and won the London T100 in this very shoe.
Charles-Barclay has also brought out a collection in collaboration with Asics, the headliner of which is the SuperBlast 2 ($200/£199.99) inspired by the athlete’s mermaid tendencies.
Léo Bergère (FRA)
The 2022 World Champion and Paris Olympic bronze medallist, Léo Bergère is an Asics sponsored athlete.
His current shoe is the same popular Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo ($270/£239.99) Charles-Barclay wears.
During training, he’s also been seen to wear the bouncy Asics Novablast 4 (Asics Novablast 5 $140/£135).
Flora Duffy (BER)
Decorated short-course star Flora Duffy is supported by Asics and wears the new Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo ($250/£220) for racing.
Otherwise, during training she’s been known to wear the now discontinued Asics Novablast 3 LE, part of the Novablast ($140/135) range.
Vincent Luis (FRA)
Girona-based pro Vincent Luis is a long-time Nike athlete, having recently announced the continuation of their partnership up until the end of his career and beyond.
In training, he’s been seen to wear the Nike Air Zoom Vomero 17 ($160/£144.99).
Having switched to long-course triathlon for 2025 and beyond, the Frenchman continues to race the Vaporfly 4.
Anne Haug (GER)
Anne Haug recently announced her triathlon retirement having become Ironman World Champion in 2019 and won Challenge Roth three times in a sensational career.
The Nike athlete has raced in both the the Vaporfly 4 ($270/£239.99) and Alphafly 3 ($285/£289.99) in her final seasons.
Magnus Ditlev (SWE)
Having snagged second place at the Ironman World Champs last year, taken his third win at Challenge Roth, and smashed some T100 racing, Ditlev will surely be looking to continue that momentum into 2025.
Leading up to the race in sweaty Hawaii, Ditlev had been seen training in the Hoka Rocket X2 ($250/£220). While the week before landing on the big island, Ditlev shared his long-run shoe of choice on socials as the “trusty” Nike Alphafly 1.
Ditlev also finished 2nd in the PTO rankings last season, wearing the Nike Zoom Fly 4 for some of the races and wore the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% ($285/£284.99) for his win in Roth.
This year, Ditlev has been seen taking on the volcanic roads of Lanzarote training in the New Balance Fresh Foam X 1080v14 ($164.99/£160).
To win races like Ironman South Africa, it looks like he might have wore the unreleased Hoka Mach X 3, a responsive, plated shoe for “up-tempo” miles.
Fenella Langridge (GBR)
A sponsored On Running athlete, Langridge has been known to wear the same On Cloudboom Strike LightSpray ($330) and On Cloudboom Strike ($280/£260) for speed training sessions. While Langdridge ran the first race of the Ironman Pro Series last year in the cushioned yet snappy On Cloudboom Zone ($210/£200).
Patrick Lange (GER)
The reigning Ironman World Champion, Lange ran to victory in Kona last October in a pair of the carbon-infused Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 ($250/£220).
Kat Matthews (GBR)
Matthews wore the Asics Metaspeed Sky+ when she became the first woman to break eight hours for the Iron-distance triathlon in 2022.
This season, she wore the Metaspeed Edge Paris ($270/£220) for her Ironman Texas and Ironman 70.3 Swansea wins.
Sarah True (USA)
Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% Flyknit 2 for her bronze place at Ironman 70.3 Chattanoonga in May, levelling up all round to the Alphafly 3 ($285/284.99) for her win at Ironman Chattanoonga only a few months later.
Rachel Klamer (NED)
Supported by Asics for the run, Klamer recently wore the Metaspeed Edge Paris ($250/£220) during a 10km road race back home in the Netherlands, where she set a new course record.
Kate Milsom
Freelance sports journalist 
