Suguru Osako to Use 'Nike AlphaFly 3' for the Paris Olympics! What He Expects from His Shoes

In the Marathon Grand Championship (MGC) held in October 2023, Suguru Osako failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics, finishing in 3rd place, just five seconds behind second place. There's only one spot left on the Paris Olympics men's marathon team. To secure it, he will need to exceed the benchmark of 2 hours 5 minutes 50 seconds in the remaining MGC Final Challenge (which includes the Osaka Marathon on February 25 and the Tokyo Marathon on March 3). If no one exceeds this time, Osako, who finished third in the MGC, will gain the spot.
 
At the MGC and the 2023 Tokyo Marathon, Osako raced in the prototype of 'Nike AlphaFly 3'. Since his marathon debut in 2017, Suguru has been competing in races while wearing Nike's thick-soled shoes. What impression does he have of the 'AlphaFly 3'? What functions does he seek in the shoes he uses for races and training?

'AlphaFly 3' is a Well-balanced Shoe

Osako made his marathon debut at the Boston Marathon in April 2017. The shoe he wore, which surprisingly earned him third place in this major competition, was the 'Nike Zoom VaporFly 4%', released in the summer of 2017. This is the first model of thick-soled shoes equipped with a carbon plate, overturning the conventional wisdom of the time that 'elite runners wear thin-soled shoes in races'.
 
In October 2018, he wore the 'Nike Zoom VaporFly 4% Flyknit' when he updated the men's marathon Japanese record (2 hours 5 minutes 50 seconds) at the Chicago Marathon. At the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, where he updated the Japanese record for the second time (2 hours 5 minutes 29 seconds), he wore the 'Nike Air Zoom AlphaFly Next%' (AlphaFly's first model).