Word: sparq
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Like NFL running backs, decathletes decline quickly under the strain of such rigorous competition. But Clay, who turned 30 last month, has a chance to defy this tradition. After all, the decathlete scored a 130.40 on the Nike SPARQ test—a sport-specific evaluation designed to determine overall athleticism. Clay’s score in the football version was the highest ever, leaving the NFL’s most electrifying stars, such as Super Bowl-bound Reggie Bush (93.38), in the dust...
...when it sees one, it attacks. So it surprised no one that as Under Armour announced it would try to revive the long-dead cross-training category (which basically describes shoes you can use to run, lift weights, jump rope or channel surf), Nike pounced. The company launched its SPARQ trainers--as the company puts it, kicks built for Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness--a month ahead of the May debut of Under Armour's Prototype Trainers...
Nike is trying to relaunch cross-training and deny the space to Under Armour. (The aerobics craze made Reebok, remember.) The Swoosh blitzed the airwaves with SPARQ ads during the NCAA basketball tournament; MY BETTER IS BETTER THAN YOUR BETTER went the tagline. SPARQs retail for $70 to $90, while Under Armour's shoes are in the $80-to-$100 price range...
...just marketing. Both Nike and Under Armour are latching onto a new approach to training that's more dynamic than lifting weights and sprinting. At Nike.com athletes can access drill videos from "SPARQ Master Trainers": You're a basketball player, and you want to improve your quickness? Have your coach drop tennis balls at your feet, and catch them before they bounce above your knees. Under Armour will also post cross-training drills on its site this summer. "Nike is going after them with a vengeance," says John Shanley, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group. "They want to make sure...
...This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.] The Prototype Trainer UNDER ARMOUR DAVID VS. BIGFOOT Under Armour is hot, but Nike has the money to kick it into the ground The SPARQ trainer NIKE $640 million Sales* $17.9 billion $45.5 million Earnings* $1.8 billion $1.7 billion Market cap** $32.2 billion Ray Lewis Famous endorser LeBron James...