It’s 2022. Abby Steiner is on top of the world. She’s set a collegiate record in the 200m, won a national title at the USA Outdoor Championships, and signed a deal with Puma. By 2025, a catalogue of injuries had stripped it all away, forcing her into an indefinite break. In April 2026, she launched a lawsuit against Puma. Now, a month later, an American World Champion and an Olympian have joined her.

Front Office Sport has reported that Olympian Damion Thomas Jr. and sprinter Champion Allison have filed cases against Puma. Peter Flowers, the attorney who also represents Steiner, represents the two sprinters and confirmed the news to FOS. Furthermore, Thomas also put out a press release after filing the case, revealing that Steiner’s case opened his eyes.

“When I learned about Abby Steiner’s lawsuit, it was the first time I considered that what happened to me wasn’t just bad luck,” Thomas said in a release on Tuesday. “Like a lot of athletes, I assumed my injury was something I had to deal with on my own. If it took a lawsuit for me to realize I wasn’t alone, there have to be thousands of other athletes out there who still don’t know.”

In April 2026, Abby Steiner filed a lawsuit against Puma and Mercedes’ Formula 1 team for “alleged negligent products liability”. The four-time NCAA champion claimed, in her lawsuit, that the shoe designed by the two companies led to numerous foot injuries, which derailed her sprint career and forced her into an indefinite break from the sport.

In her lawsuit, Steiner alleged that the shoe design, alongside the carbon fiber plates used and/or the nitrofoam technology, was at fault. It “changed the foot and ankle mechanics during running,” which she and her lawyers believe “increase the risk of injury”. For the now 26-year-old, that meant a double Haglund’s surgery, Achilles injuries, and multiple bone stress injuries.

Now, both Allison and Thomas Jr. have filed suits that say the same thing. That includes reiterating the fact that they believe the shoes cause “bone stress injuries” and “altered the biomechanics of runners”.  Allison, in particular, has been hit hard by injuries as he competed just once in 2023 before returning in 2024.

The 27-year-old was well off his best and hasn’t raced since May 2025. Thomas, on the other hand, has gone through a similar ordeal after he thrived at the collegiate level. He was a national champion in the 60m and competed at the 2021 Olympics. However, the hurdler underwent surgery in late 2024 and hasn’t competed since July of the same year.

All three athletes have also named shoes they believe led to their injuries in the lawsuits. There’s no telling if Steiner’s shoes were different from those of Allison and Thomas Jr. However, the aforementioned list consisted of Puma evoSpeed and Deviate Nitro products, all of which have carbon fiber plates and Nitrofoam. Flowers stated that the materials affected all three athletes even though they wore different shoes.

In his opinion, the carbon fiber plates and the nitrofoam were the main cause. Furthermore, according to the lawsuits filed by all three athletes, they believe the two companies know that.

“It changes your posture, which puts more force on different parts of your feet than existed before, different forces on your Achilles tendon,” Flowers said, as per FOS. “All of these things that a reasonable company would have known had they tested these shoes.”

With three athletes now making similar allegations, the spotlight has only intensified on Puma and the products at the center of the dispute. Unsurprisingly, the company has already addressed Steiner’s lawsuit, with a spokesperson outlining Puma’s position shortly after the case became public.

Puma spokesperson opens up on Steiner’s lawsuit

As of now, Puma isn’t the only company under a lawsuit for their shoes. In 2025, Heather Cerney, a former NCAA Division 1 runner, filed a lawsuit against Nike. In the ongoing suit, Cerney cited that her sesamoid fracture was caused by one of the footwear giant’s specialised shoes. The lawsuit cited the AlphaFly 2 as her main shoe and stated that the “carbon plate and geometry” of the shoe caused her injuries.

However, the suit didn’t stop there as it charged Nike for a variety of causes, including “product liability, negligence,” and more. That, alongside Steiner’s and now Allison and Thomas Jr’s case, is something that Peter Flowers believes is a larger problem. However, in light of Steiner’s lawsuit, a Puma spokesperson spoke out and touched upon the matter.

“Puma is aware that a case has been filed. Unfortunately, we cannot comment on active litigation,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “However, we strongly deny any allegation that our performance products cause injuries. We consistently collaborate with our athletes to provide products that meet their needs.”

However, Flowers believes that the company was just protecting itself.

“That sounds to me like that’s all about sales,” Flowers said. “There was nothing in that comment to me that showed anything to do with safety.”

According to Steiner’s filed lawsuit, the deadline for a response from Puma and Mercedes is August 24th. Track and field fans will have to wait and see how this one unfolds.