Adidas Might Have Just Built The Ultimate Training Shoe for Hybrid Athletes

These days, there are shoes for literally any sporting activity, from power lifting to pickleball. However, most of us do more than one sport, often on the same day. To save room in your gym bag and time swapping sneakers, a solid hybrid shoe is ideal. Yet finding one that works equally well in both speed and power can be tricky.

Adidas seems to have pulled it off with its latest Adizero Dropset Elite, a training shoe purpose-built for the hybrid athlete.

Two Legends Walk Into a Lab

To understand why this shoe exists, you have to appreciate the lineage behind it. The Adizero franchise traces back to 2004, when adidas tapped Japanese lastmaker Toshiaki Omori to build a new generation of ultra-light performance footwear. His philosophy was simple: strip away the excess while preserving fit and cushioning. That work culminated in 2008, when Haile Gebrselassie wore the Adizero Adios 1 to break the marathon world record in Berlin. Since then, the line has only grown more serious, racking up over 200 race wins, 29 world records, and a complete overhaul into the modern carbon super-shoe era.

The Dropset line came later, debuting around 2021 as adidas’ answer to the growing cross-training market. It found its footing with athletes who needed a shoe that could take on a squat rack and a short sprint without falling apart at either. The Dropset 4, launched in January 2026, pushed the concept further by adding improved running capability for distances up to 800m alongside its lifting credentials.

The Adizero Dropset Elite is the first time adidas has asked both lines to coexist in the same silhouette. Given the rise of HYROX and similar hybrid fitness racing formats, where athletes push sleds, throw wall balls, and then sprint, this is coming at the perfect time. The shoe was developed at adidas’ Innovation Lab in Herzogenaurach, Germany, with direct input from elite competitors including two-time HYROX world champion Tim Wenisch, who actually debuted the shoe on course in Melbourne last December and came away with the win.

Under the Hood

At the core of the new Adizero Dropset Elite is Lightstrike Pro foam, borrowed directly from the Adizero racing line, which keeps the shoe featherlight while delivering the kind of energy return you’d normally only expect from a dedicated racer. Above the midsole, an Energy Rim wraps the heel and rear foot to manage stability during high-load stations like wall balls, where a running shoe would typically be more wobbly here. This is the same concept used in the Adizero Prime X Evo that set the 100km world record.

Then there’s the outsole. Rather than a thick slab of Continental rubber, adidas went thin, applying it in a diamond pattern designed specifically for the multi-surface requirements of hybrid racing. That means carpet, turf, and rubber track surfaces. A 12mm heel drop and engineered geometry round things out, intended to give you optimal biomechanical position for an array of activities and stations. The Footadapt sockliner, pulled from the Dropset 4, ties it all together by increasing “foot awareness.”

The one area worth watching is durability. The stripped-down upper is clearly prioritizing weight savings, and the thin Continental application may show wear faster than a dedicated training shoe. Nonetheless, that’s a fair tradeoff for a shoe that can do this much.

Spec Sheet

Pricing & Availability

Priced at $275, the Adizero Dropset Elite drops globally on March 18 from Adidas’ website, with U.S. availability following on May 15.

Recap

Adidas Adizero Dropset Elite

Adidas just dropped the Adizero Dropset Elite, a hybrid training shoe built for athletes who need to lift, sprint, and do everything in between without swapping footwear. At $275, it combines tech from their racing and cross-training lines, like the Lightstrike Pro foam and a stabilizing Energy Rim.

Learn More: Adidas