An Olympic Scandal In 1960
At the 1960 Olympics, Rudolf showed how far he was willing to go to outdo his brother. He actually paid a German sprinter named Armin Hary to wear Puma-branded shoes for his 100-meter sprint.
Source: Armin Hary – The 1960 100 meter Olympic Champion. speedendurance.com
Hary had been previously wearing Adidas shoes, but Rudolf’s offer was too good to turn down. Hary won gold in his Puma shoes but then decided to switch into Adidas ones while accepting the medal, hoping to get money from both brands. Instead, he simply made both Adi and Rudolf very angry, and this was just one example of the brands’ big battles over the years.