👟 Running shoes? Buy Brazilian

Hello! Welcome back to the Brazil Sports newsletter, brought to you by The Brazilian Report. This week, Brazilians are running more and more — and they’re wearing one particular Brazilian brand on their feet while doing it.

If you have any questions about this newsletter, or topics you’d like to see covered in future issues, send me an email at [email protected]

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Olympikus scales Brazil’s running market mountain

The Covid pandemic made runners of us all, more or less. Full of sourdough bread and alcohol, jogging around the neighborhood was the best way to burn off those extra lockdown calories in a socially distanced manner, and hordes of people around the world took those new-found habits into the post-pandemic period.

Until 2019, the New York City Marathon was the world’s biggest because it was the only one to have more than 53,000 finishers. Last year, however, five marathons around the world broke that 53,000 barrier. In the 2024 Paris Marathon, 50% of the runners were taking part in their first 26-mile road race.

Brazil, of course, has not been spared from this pandemic-fuelled running boom, developing its own road-racing culture. English words like “pace” (pronounced more like pace-y) have made their way into everyday parlance. The sport has become something of a social phenomenon as well, with the creation of running’s own equivalent to the hanky code — runners who would class themselves as “single and ready to mingle” now know to turn up to races and practices wearing blue socks.

But sock color is not the only difference when it comes to Brazil’s running scene. Instead of seeing people wearing Nike, Asics or Hoka running shoes, Brazilian feet are wearing a homegrown brand.

Popular exercise app Strava releases an annual trend report on the world’s runners and cyclists, picking up on habits, objectives, activity and gear. While Nike’s recognizable Pegasus running shoe takes the lead worldwide among Strava’s users, for the last two years in Brazil it has been unable to compete with the Corre series from Brazilian sporting goods brand Olympikus.

And this is not a case of generational brand fealty in Brazil. It is an altogether new trend.

Currently owned by major Brazilian footwear company Vulcabras, for most of its 50-year history Olympikus was seen as something of a junk brand. Its shoes, in particular, were cheaply made and cheaply sold, often positioning itself as a crude imitation of more famous designs. Think four stripes, instead of three.

Its trainers sold in huge volumes, but for one-fifth of the price of leading brands, consumers would receive a product with one-tenth the durability and build quality.

The Olympikus success case

Sergio Rocha, owner of the highly popular Brazilian running channel Corrida no Ar, told The Brazilian Report that all this began to change around 2019. “Before that, if someone suggested you buy a pair of Olympikus running shoes, you’d laugh at them.”

Pedro Bartelle, CEO of Vulcabras, has been credited with spotting a growing trend in running — before the pandemic — and deciding that Olympikus had to take full advantage and invest in the market.

The major R&D turning point involved bringing in important figures from the industry to conceive their new line of running shoes, the now almost ubiquitous Corre series.

“You had designers, people from the industry, elite runners and influencers brainstorming together,” said Rocha. “The first Corre was terrible, but Corre 2 was much better. As was 3, and 4 …”

On Corrida no Ar, many of Rocha’s most popular videos are equipment reviews. And he remembers the release of Corre 2 as something of a watershed moment.

“The guys from the Olympikus development team hated me. They had a dossier of all my negative reviews, because I would just pan their trainers. Then, when I reviewed Corre 2 I thought, ‘Man, I can’t believe I’m gonna have to say good things about a pair of Olympikus running shoes.’”

Money talks … or runs?

While increased quality is a factor, an undeniably huge part of the Olympikus success in Brazil is its price point. While Nike typically charges around BRL 2,400 (around USD 420, or just shy of twice Brazil’s minimum monthly wage) for a pair of its professional Alphafly marathon-running shoes in Brazil, Olympikus’s carbon-plated Corre Supra retails at BRL 1,000. The brand’s entry-level models sell for just around BRL 200.

The price difference, of course, is due to being a domestic brand. While some inputs for its highest-end trainers are imported from China, the vast majority of the materials, manufacture and assembly occurs in Brazil.

The “Brazilian foot”

There is another facet to Olympikus’s success in the running world, however — its powerful marketing message that it makes Brazilian shoes, by Brazilians, for Brazilians. “Olympikus really did its homework,” said Rocha. “Its shoes are designed for the average Brazilian foot, which is generally broader because we’re used to wearing flip-flops all the time.”

Indeed, Brazilian consumers often find themselves having to size up when buying shoes abroad or foreign-made, precisely for this reason.

With hundreds of reviews under his belt since opening his channel in 2013, Rocha let The Brazilian Report in on an industry tip: “Japanese shoe brands are often more suitable for Brazilian feet, as their population tends to have a higher prevalence of fallen arches, so they make their shoes a bit broader.”

50 years, reaching the top?

While Olympikus’s time in the sun among Brazilian runners has only lasted for around five years, the brand itself is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year — and is pulling out all the stops. 

One of the most important initiatives for any serious running brand is sponsoring and organizing races. To commemorate its half century, Olympikus will be steering a total of 50 (!) races this year, almost one per week.

And, to top things off, Olympikus looks set to unveil its most hi-tech running shoe yet — potentially ahead of the São Paulo Marathon in April. The Corre Supra 2 will be the brand’s continuation of its flagship carbon-plate line, and Corrida no Ar’s Sergio Rocha cannot wait to get his hands on it. “I’m certain it’s going to be incredible. I think it will hit the same level as the world’s biggest running shoe brands.”

Other stories we’re following

🎾 At just 18 years old, Brazilian tennis player João Fonseca won the first senior title of his career, winning the ATP Buenos Aires last weekend. While the intense schedule of matches leading up to the final perhaps cost him in the Rio Open days afterward (from which he was eliminated in the first round), the youngster will now be setting his sights on two major Masters 1000 events in March: Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

• Speaking of the Rio Open, a mixup between the tournament organizers and the state’s sports secretariat saw copies of the personal documents and telephone numbers of major tennis pros (including Fonseca and Carlos Alcaraz) left available for download online. The document, produced for transparency purposes, has since been taken down.

🏈 As The Brazilian Report said earlier this month, the NFL confirmed that it will return to Brazil during the 2025 regular season, with the Los Angeles Chargers playing one of its home matches at the Neo Química Arena in São Paulo, on September 5. The opposing team has not yet been announced. The head of NFL in Brazil, Luis Martinez, said he was delighted to confirm the league’s return after a “successful and memorable” São Paulo match last year.

☀️ A severe heat wave affecting several regions of Brazil has had an immediate impact on football in Rio de Janeiro. After complaints led by Flamengo captain Gerson that afternoon kick-off times posed “a significant risk” to players’ physical integrity, all remaining games in the Rio de Janeiro state championship will now kick off after 6 pm.

• Meanwhile, the country’s leading state tournaments are reaching the business end, with the big news being Palmeiras potentially missing out on a place in the knockout stage in the São Paulo championship. Having won the last three editions, the tournament’s unorthodox rules mean the Verdão risk missing out on qualifying for the final eight, despite having the fourth-best campaign.