8/16/23: The Best Running Teams and Brands Ranked
Written By: Ben Drury
Over the past six years in the past 3 World Championships and the 2021 Olympics, there have been thirteen brands and running teams that have made up the podiums, and today I will be picking the top two brands and the top two running teams based on a few simple factors. Those factors are: Has the team been successful in World championships and other world competitions such as the Olympics and are they still successful, and are they good in a range of events just not one discipline? I will calculate their overall score by taking the results from the past six years in outdoor World Championships and the Olympics, and for each podium position a team or brand got, they will receive their corresponding points (First=3 points, Second=2 points, and Third=1 point), the top two teams and top two brands with the most points will make up this list. Let us begin with the ranking of the top-running brands.
1st: Nike
156 Points
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to many that Nike was the best brand in the past and still is the best in the running world. Nike over the past six years has had a total of 73 podium appearances in World Championships and Olympics during that period, and 41% of those podium appearances were first-place finishes. Nike also hasn’t dominated one single event, they have won in every event from the marathon down to the 800m, and they have also swept events before and not just a couple of times but nine times. In total Nike racked up 156 points beating the second-place brand by 125 points which cements Nike as one of the best brands in the running world if not THE best. Also, some of the top teams in the world are sponsored by Nike further showing Nike’s dominance.
2nd: Adidas
31 Points
Much like Nike, this ranking also shouldn’t come as a surprise, Adidas was the second-best brand in the past six years with 20 podium appearances during those six years. They have had great success in all the events from 800m to the marathon, although they haven’t won as much as Nike they have consistently been competitive in the top races, and that shows by them having a podium finish in 19% of finals in the past six years. Adidas and Nike will forever be two of the best running brands in the world and I’m curious to see how they perform in Budapest, this upcoming week.
As I said a couple of weeks ago, there are lots of professional running teams in the world and some of them might be sponsored by the teams above. But, today they will be ranked separately. Over the last six years, there have been 7 teams to make it onto the podium at the World Championships and Olympics and many more compete. However, today we are only going to be talking about two, the two best teams.
1st: NN Running Team
30 Points
NN Running Team who is known by most as the team Eliud Kipchoge is a part of has had a great past six years. They have shown great success in true distance races such as the 5k, 10k, and marathon. NN holds or has held almost every world record in each of those events on the men’s and women’s side. NN has had 13 podium appearances during this period and even though they are more 5k, 10k, and marathon focused they still dominate in competitions over other teams with a mid-distance approach or teams that are more spread out amongst all distances. I look forward to seeing if NN retains its dominance in Budapest.
2nd: Rosa E Associati
11 Points
Rosa E Associati has had six podium appearances in the past six years. Rosa E Associati much like NN is a true distance team, they have found great success in the Women’s Marathon winning in 2019 and podiuming in 2021 and 2022. They have also found success with Jacob Kiplimo in the Men’s 10k placing third at the 2021 Olympics and the 2022 World Championships, unfortunately for him, he will not be competing this year due to an injury. Rosa E Associati is a great team and at Budapest, I’m excited to see how they perform and if they retain their second-place ranking.