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

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.

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.