The rare pair of track-and-field spikes designed by Bill Bowerman for Jerome, a Canadian sprinter who won the 100m bronze at the 1964 Tokyo Games, features a red arrow that was a prelude to the Nike swoosh logo.

Sotheby’s will put the white lace-up shoes on sale online from July 23-Aug 2. The auction house estimates that they could go for between US$800,000 and US$1.2 million.

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 US$1.8 million, triple the previous record for sneakers.

The shoes beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s that sold for US$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 worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan during the 1984 Olympic trials. They are expected to fetch up to US$100,000.