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Sotheby's targets $1 million for rare Nike Olympic shoe

The rare pair features a red arrow that was a prelude to the famous Nike swoosh logo



This handout photo released by Sotheby's auctioneers shows a pair of ‘prototype logo’ track spikes running shoes handmade by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman for Canadian Track and Field sprinter and Olympian Harry Jerome in the 1960s and modified by Bowerman in the early 1970s, displayed prior to auction in New York.
Image Credit: AFP

New York: On the same day the Olympics opens this month, Sotheby's will put on sale running shoes made by Nike's co-founder for 1960s Olympian Harry Jerome that could fetch $1 million.

The rare pair of track and field spikes designed by Bill Bowerman for Jerome, a Canadian sprinter who won 100-metre bronze at the 1964 Tokyo Games, features a red arrow that was a prelude to the famous Nike swoosh logo.

Sotheby's in New York will put the white lace-up shoes on sale online from July 23 to August 2.

The auction house estimates that they could go for between $800,000 and 1.2 million dollars.

The sale comes as the market for rare sports shoes, previously seen as niche, soars.

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In April, a pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West sold for $1.8 million, triple the previous record for sneakers.

The shoes beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s which sold for $615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie's auction.

Sotheby's said the shoe by Bowerman, who founded Nike with Phil Knight, "represents an important chapter in the origins of the Nike brand."

The auction house is also selling a pair of Converse Fastbreak sneakers that basketball legend Michael Jordan wore during the 1984 Olympic trials.

They are expected to fetch up to $100,000.

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