For the more common sports like athletics, basketball and tennis, Nike produced some of the lightest shoes it has ever created based on a webbing of ultra-resistant fibers that act as a basket to attach the sole and support the foot.

"In the beginning, I mistakenly considered it a jogging shoe because it was so light," China's women's tennis No 2 Li Na said of her new shoe, which is half the weight of her regular shoe.

Nike has also changed the look of many products to reflect the history of the sports.

In designing apparel for wushu, which is not an Olympic sport but has a separate tournament being held during the Beijing Games, Nike designers read a lot of history books, watched Bruce Lee movies and talked with Beijing Wushu Academy head Wu Bin, who also mentors Hollywood kungfu star Jet Li.

They ended up with a pair of shoes printed with two Chinese letters "wu" and "xia" ("chivalrous man" in Chinese). Athletes were pleased.

"There are so many parts of wushu, you really have to get into the culture and know about it in order to make a proper shoe," said Sean McDowell, Nike's Olympic footwear director.

These cultural sensitivities also led to a decorative design on the Chinese team uniforms, which echoes the carvings on an ancient mask discovered together with terracotta warriors in the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang.

"The mix of competition and consumer products is some of the best we've ever done," Parker said.

Defining moments

Parker hopes a Chinese athlete produces a "defining moment" in Beijing like Michael Johnson did at Atlanta 1996 in a pair of Nike golden shoes, winning both the 200m and 400m with world record times, or like Cathy Freeman at Sydney 2000 did while wearing a green-and-white one-piece Nike suit when she won the 400m.

"Some of our greatest moments as a brand and as a company have come under those five rings," he said.

Liu Xiang could be the "defining" one. The reigning 110m hurdles world and Olympic champion will have his own specially designed shoe come August.

Other Chinese star clients who will enjoy the same treatment as Liu will be China's first-ever boxing world champion Zou Shiming, NBA power forward Yi Jianlian, and tennis stars Li Na, Zheng Jie and Yan Zi.

"China is particularly important because of what it represents and its impact on the world," Park said, knowing China is already Nike's second biggest market after the US with sales exceeding $1 billion last year.

But Nike is not always the winner at the Olympics since that is where all companies unveil their coolest and boldest products.

Eight years after Speedo's "Shark's Skin" swimsuits rocked the pool in Sydney, the British company unveiled its LZR Racer, which is thought to be behind more than 50 world record-breaking performances this year.

In Speedo's wake, many Nike-sponsored swimmers have turned to LZR suits during for the Games, including US swimming sensation Michael Phelps.

Some top Chinese swimmers have changed over as well.

"It's always our challenge to work with the athletes to elevate their performance and help them realize their potential," Parker said.

(China Daily July 16, 2008)