Nike AeroSwift Tape—The Next Big Thing in Running?

As Galen Rupp was winning the 10,000-meter run on July 1 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., plenty of fans in the grandstands at Hayward Field could be overheard asking things like: “What is that tape he’s wearing on his arms and legs?” and “Is Galen hurt and being taped together with kinesio tape?” Well, Rupp is not hurt, as he proved by winning the 10,000 and also advancing to the final of the 5,000 on July 4. The tape he was wearing was not for injury rehab or prevention, it was all about being more aerodynamic as he ran around the track. Called AeroSwift Tape, it’s part of Nike’s ongoing aerodynamic efficiency research project that also includes the brand’s Vapor track and field racing kits. Click through the photos below to learn more about it.

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Nike AeroSwift Technology

Galen Rupp was one of a select few Nike athletes that debuted Nike AeroSwift Tape on his arms and legs during the U.S. Olympic Trials when he stepped on the track for the 10,000. (Eric Jenkins also wore it during the 10,000.) Jorge Carbo, a senior research with Nike's Exploration Team in the Nike Sports Research Lab, says wind tunnel testing has revealed Nike AeroBlade apparel and tape results in a 2-3 percent drop in wind resistance. He says it's impossible to measure how it might play out in a race situation—given variables like wind and an individual runner's form—but the research team is confident it is providing an advantage. Photo: Brian Metzler

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Nike AeroSwift Technology

AeroSwfit technology is also built into Nike's Vapor racing kits. Here Allyson Felix wearing a Nike Vapor track and field kit with tiny AeroBlades on her top, shorts and leg sleeves. As far back as 1996, scientists and aerodynamicists in the Nike Sports Research Lab had theorized that applying textures to a runner could drop aerodynamic drag. It debuted in Sydney in 2000 with the original Nike Swift Suit and continuously evolved the technology, leading to the introduction of nylon flocking, which appeared on the company’s sprint apparel in London 2012. The flocking was effective, but nowhere near as efficient as AeroBlades, which Carbo says elevate Nike AeroSwift technology to a new level. Photo: Caitlyn Pilkington

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Nike AeroSwift Technology

Nike AeroSwift Tape has been in development for three years, Carbo says. Rupp wore it on both arms and legs en route to winning the 10,000 in 27:55.04 to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Photo: PhotoRun.net

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Nike AeroSwift Technology

The small black features on the tape are called AeroBlades and they were designed to create an air vortex—and numerous vortices when positioned together—to create a disturbance in the boundary layer of air going around a runner's body, Carbo says. The tape is applied directly to dry skin after it is rubbed down with an alcohol solution to remove sweat, dirt and oil from eh skin. Photo: Brian Metzler

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