A double world champion in athletics sued the sports equipment giant! Why are they accusing them?
Article by David Istrate – Published on Tuesday, 28 April 2026 21:53 / Updated on Tuesday, 28 April 2026 22:01
Abby Steiner (26), a two-time world champion in athletics, has sued Puma and the Mercedes Formula 1 team, accusing them of creating sports shoes that caused her injuries and hastened the end of her career.
Abby Steiner, born November 24, 1999, is an American track and field athlete who has competed in the 200 m, 300 m and 400 m races at both the American National Collegiate Championships (NCAA) and internationally at the World Track and Field Championships.
4 years after signing a contract with Puma, Abby Steiner sued the company in Germany
Due to his excellent performances in the NCAA, in the equipment of the University of Kentucky, Steiner caught the attention of Puma, who offered him a sponsorship deal in 2022 worth around two million dollars. That same month, she won two gold medals at the World Championships as part of the US 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
But starting in 2023, Steiner had more and more injuries, and her promising career ended in 2024, when she last participated in the United States Olympic selections.
Meanwhile, the two-time world champion sued Puma and the Mercedes Formula 1 team, who created the design of the sports shoes she received to compete. She claims they were poorly designed, “defective” and “unsafe.”
According to Front Office Sports, in the lawsuit he filed April 24 in Massachusetts Supreme Court, Steiner claimed that “Puma shoes increased the risk of injury through their design and use of carbon fiber plate and nitro foam technology.”
Now 26, she believes Puma products hastened the end of her career and is seeking financial and other damages. Steiner accuses the German company of knowing its products were defective but promoting them anyway.
