Stef Reid (GBR), during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by AFLO SPORT) Photo: Kenjiro Matsuo
Former Paralympian Stef Reid has questioned Nike's commitment to diversity over their refusal to sell single shoes to amputee runners, even though they use amputee mannequins and runners in promotions.
Reid, a three-times Paralympic medallist in long jump and 200 metres, said she was unable to purchase a single Vaporfly, Nike's top-of-the-line training shoe.
"It's really expensive and I'm going to buy this [pair] and I'm going to throw half away. This just seems a little bit silly," Reid, who lost her right foot in a boating accident when she was 16, said in an interview with Reuters.
"I would never have gone down this route but when a company is using the image [of amputee runners in promotional material], they're making a statement that they want to be diverse and inclusive."
Stef Reid (GBR), Women's Lomg jump T44 Final at Olympic Stadium during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by AFLO SPORT) Photo: Kenjiro Matsuo
In a statement to Reuters Nike, who offered her a 15 percent discount to buy a pair, thanked Reid for sharing her concerns.
"At Nike, we stand for all athletes, and sponsor a number of Para athletes and federations around the world and work with them across all forms of movement," the statement said.
The company added that their American program One Shoe Bank offers a select inventory of single shoes out of their Memphis distribution centre.
"Taking the learnings from the program, we are hoping to expand it to more geographies in the future," Nike said.
The 39-year-old Reid, who competed for Canada before switching to Team GB, has taken up distance running with the ultimate goal of racing in the Boston Marathon.
She would like to honour Boston's groundbreaking decision this year to add several Para categories, with prize money.
Reid, who lives with her Canadian husband, 11-time Paralympic medallist Brent Lakatos, in Loughborough, England, was a quarter-finalist in Dancing on Ice in 2022.
Last month, she became the first amputee athlete to compete in the British adult figure skating championships, and won silver in her age category.
- This article was originally published by Reuters