Nike Pro Elite
2012
Four athlete-issue pieces from the London cycle live in our archive — the season Nike answered a Games it did not sponsor with a single colour, a dimpled suit and a knitted shoe.
Nike Pro Elite 2012 is the London-cycle generation of Nike's athlete-issue competition kit: slate grey with chevron chest panels and volt at the seams, issued to contracted athletes and never sold at retail.
This page reads the brand's season first — Volt, TurboSpeed, Flyknit and the home meeting in Eugene — then how to recognise the cycle, and every piece of it in our archive.
Part of our Brand Series — the full story is in The History of Nike Pro Elite. Jump to the full cycle collection or browse the category.
- What it is
- The London cycle of Nike athlete-issue kit — issued for the 2012 season, never retailed
- Volt
- 400+ athletes in Nike's neon at London; 68 medalled, 25 gold — the brand's own count
- Why colour
- adidas was the official sponsor of London 2012 — Nike answered through its athletes' feet
- TurboSpeed
- February 2012: wind-tunnel racing suit, golf-ball dimples, 82% recycled polyester
- Flyknit Racer
- 160 g, knitted one-piece upper — 19% lighter than the Zoom Streak 3
- The home meeting
- Rupp 12:58.90 for 5000 m at the Pre Classic, 2 June — Nike's own straight
- The look
- Slate grey, chevron chest panels, volt at the seams
- In our archive
- 4 athlete-issue pieces, all women's race kit of the cycle
The Colour That Took Over a Games
Nike did not sponsor the London 2012 Olympics — adidas did. So Nike went at the Games through the only surface it controlled: the feet of its own athletes. It launched a track and field collection in a single neon shade, technically named Volt, and put it on every event group from the sprints to the marathon. By the brand's own count more than 400 athletes competed in it, 68 of them medalled and 25 won gold.
The kit issued to Nike's contracted athletes that season carries the same signature, used with restraint: slate grey with volt at the seams. It is the clearest case in the archive of a Pro Elite cycle built around a colour decision rather than a fabric one.
Volt at London 2012 (table)
| Group | Athletes |
|---|---|
| Wore Volt in competition | 400+ |
| Of those, won a medal (Nike's count) | 68 |
| Of those, won gold (Nike's count) | 25 |
| Volt athletes without a medal | 332 of the 400 shown |
TurboSpeed, Flyknit and the Home Meeting
The colour was the loud part of a busy product year. In February 2012 Nike unveiled the Pro TurboSpeed racing suit — wind-tunnel tested, its surface dimpled like a golf ball, cut from 82 per cent recycled polyester — and, beside it, the Flyknit Racer: a 160-gram shoe with a knitted one-piece upper, 19 per cent lighter than the Zoom Streak 3 that had carried the whole podium of the 2011 world marathon. Both were built for London, and both outlived it.
On the track, the season's best Nike moment away from any federation came at the brand's own meeting. At the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on 2 June, Galen Rupp of the Oregon Project ran 5000 m in 12:58.90 — under thirteen minutes on Nike's home straight, three years after turning professional with the brand.
The Games themselves were the federations' business — Team USA's medal table in the Nike kit of USATF, David Rudisha's 1:40.91 in the Nike kit of Athletics Kenya, the Oregon Project one-two of Farah and Rupp in British and American colours — and they live in our country histories, not on this page.
The Kit of the Cycle
The London cycle runs black with slate-grey chest panels cut on a chevron line and volt flashes at the seams — the same neon Nike put on the feet of the whole track that summer, used sparingly on the kit as an accent rather than a base.
Construction follows the athlete-issue rules our authentication guide covers: competition-weight cloth, race cuts, no retail run. “Pro Elite” is the athlete-channel label collectors use — the programme Nike itself keeps off the shelves. Federation kit is a different contract: what USATF or Athletics Kenya wear at a Worlds lives in our country pages, not here.
From this cycle · in the archiveNike Pro Elite 2012 Women Sleeves Speed Crop TopRace-issue from the London cycle — the sleeved speed crop of the Volt season.100,00 €View piece →The Full Cycle in the Archive
Every piece we hold from the 2012 cycle, grouped by edition — in-stock first, sold pieces dimmed and documented, refreshed against live stock. The full brand story is in the Nike pillar.
What is Nike Pro Elite 2012 kit?
The London-cycle generation of Nike's athlete-issue competition kit: issued to contracted athletes for the 2012 season and never sold at retail. It is recognisable by slate grey with chevron chest panels and volt accents at the seams.
What is Volt, and why is it tied to London 2012?
Volt is Nike's technical name for the neon yellow-green it launched as a track and field collection for the 2012 Games. adidas was the official sponsor of London 2012, so Nike made its statement through colour instead: by its own count more than 400 athletes competed in Volt, 68 of them medalled and 25 won gold. The kit of the cycle carries the same shade as a seam accent.
What did Nike launch for the 2012 season?
Two things, in February 2012: the Pro TurboSpeed racing suit, wind-tunnel tested and dimpled like a golf ball, and the Flyknit Racer, a 160-gram shoe with a knitted one-piece upper that was 19 per cent lighter than the Zoom Streak 3. Flyknit went on to become one of the brand's core technologies.
Did Nike athletes set marks outside the Games in 2012?
The one this page keeps is Galen Rupp's 12:58.90 for 5000 m at the Prefontaine Classic on 2 June, Nike's own meeting in Eugene, three years after he turned professional with the brand. What Nike-dressed federations did at the Games is covered in our country pages.
What 2012 pieces does Elite Athletics Clothes carry?
Four athlete-issue pieces of the London cycle, all women's race kit, documented on this page with live stock. A closed cycle only shrinks — nothing restocks.
Sources and References
- Nike Unveils Volt Collection for Track and Field — Sole Collector — The Volt launch and Nike’s 400 / 68 / 25 count
- Nike unveils Pro TurboSpeed & Medal Stand Collection — Core77 — The February 2012 unveiling
- Nike Pro TurboSpeed is a golf-ball-inspired track uniform — New Atlas — Wind tunnel, dimples, 82% recycled polyester
- Nike Flyknit Trainer+ unveiled ahead of London 2012 — T3 — Flyknit Racer 160 g, 19% lighter than the Zoom Streak 3
- Wikipedia — Galen Rupp — 12:58.90 at the Prefontaine Classic, 2 June 2012
- USATF and Nike sign deal through 2040 — LetsRun — The federation contract, distinct from athlete issue