Back in 1996, Michael Johnson wore what was arguably the most famous spike in Olympic history: his ultralight gold Nike’s.  Prior to the ‘08 Games in Beijing, Nike hyped up the 186 gram Aerofly, a new golden shoe to be worn by Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell.  However, when the Olympics finally came around, here’s what was on Powell’s feet:

(Thomas Kienzle/AP Photo)

Only a Jamaican could possibly pull these off.  I would’ve preferred the gold look, but it turns out these were a good choice given the final results of the Men’s 100m.  These were unveiled at a Nike press conference a few days before heats started and can also be seen here and here.

(Reuters)

Meanwile, Puma took a page out of Nike’s book and hooked Usain Bolt up with a gold pair of Complete Theseus II’s.  They were a solid bet since Bolt took the gold medal and set a new world record… Additional views available here, here, and here.

There have been a few other custom spikes in the first few days of track & field competition, but I’ll probably be covering them in an Olympic rundown later in the week.  I’ll also be doing an Olympic Basketball post in a couple of days… stay tuned.

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