Abby Steiner is seeking damages for medical expenses, lost professional earnings, and long-term physical impact following injuries she related to Puma shoes.
The two-time world champion runner has taken legal action against the company sponsoring her shoes, arguing that equipment designed to support her ascents instead contributed to injuries that halted, and possibly ended, her career. Abby Steiner, a key part of the US relay teams that won gold in both the 4 x 100 meters and 4 x 400 meters at the 2022 world championships in Eugene, has filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts alleging that Puma provided “defective” and unsafe shoes, which led to a series of chronic foot and ankle problems.
From breakout star to long-term injury concerns
The timeline of Steiner’s rise and subsequent struggles forms a key part of the case, beginning in June 2022 when she announced herself as one of the world’s fastest women by winning the 200 meters at the US national championships in 21.77 seconds.
This accomplishment came after a distinguished college career at the University of Kentucky, where she became a four-time NCAA champion.
A month later, she turned professional and signed with Puma in a deal widely reported to be worth about $2 million, one of the most significant endorsements for a runner coming out of the college system. Within weeks, she added international success to her resume, earning two World Championship gold medals as part of the U.S. relay teams.
Her trajectory changed in 2023, when she began suffering from persistent foot injuries. Over the next two years, these problems escalated into a series of medical interventions. Steiner had chronic problems with her foot and ankle, including Haglund’s deformity, a bony enlargement in the back of the heel of her right foot, which required surgery in 2023. She also suffered a partially torn Achilles tendon and ultimately underwent at least three surgeries between 2023 and 2025.
What the lawsuit claims about the shoes
In the complaint filed April 24 in Massachusetts Supreme Court, Steiner claims that specific Puma models, including the Deviate Nitro Elite 2 and 3 and evoSPEED Tokyo Nitro, directly contributed to those injuries, Front Office Sports reported. The suit also names Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix, which collaborated on the design elements of the rivets. At the heart of the claim lies the technology used in elite running shoes over the past decade.
Steiner argues that incorporating carbon fiber plates and nitrogen-based foam, designed to improve energy return and speed, has changed the natural mechanics of her foot and ankle while running. According to the file, these changes resulted in increased stress on her lower extremities and increased risk of injury over time. It also claims that Puma was aware of potential design flaws but continued to market the shoes as safe and suitable for elite competition, and failed to properly inspect them. The key element of the issue is timing. Steiner states that although her injuries began years ago, she “only recently” identified the shoe as the cause, arguing that the way the shoe modified her running mechanics made it difficult to identify the source of the problem at the time.
Competitive Impact and Final Races
The material losses described in the lawsuit are offset by a clear competitive decline. In the lead-up to the 2024 US Olympic Trials, Steiner withdrew from several preparatory races because she was unable to complete basic training sessions, including walking and running exercises, without pain. When she competed at the trials, she placed sixth in the 200 meters, missing out on qualifying for the Olympic team. This race now marks her latest competitive appearance at the elite level. In August 2025, she publicly announced that she was stepping away from the sport, calling it a decision to focus on recovery and pursue a master’s degree in exercise science. The lawsuit goes further, stating that she can no longer compete at the professional or Olympic level.
What Steiner seeks
Steiner is seeking monetary and non-monetary damages from Puma. The claim includes compensation for medical expenses associated with surgeries and treatment, as well as loss of potential earnings from a rapidly developing professional career. She is also seeking damages for what is described in the filing as “loss of complete enjoyment of life and disfigurement,” reflecting the long-term physical consequences she attributes to the injuries.
