NEW YORK, United States — US middle-distance runner Boris Berian is free to wear the shoes of his choosing at the Olympic Trials next week, after Nike Inc. dropped a breach of contract lawsuit against the 800-metre star.

The case drew attention to the issue of so-called reduction clauses in sponsorship contracts, which Nike said are standard in the industry. Nike’s terms to match New Balance Inc.’s offer to Berian had several reduction clauses, which would’ve cut Berian’s base salary by 20 percent to 50 percent were he to get injured, perform poorly or fail to wear Nike branding. New Balance didn’t have such reductions.

Berian accepted New Balance’s offer in January and began wearing NB-branded gear after his deal with Nike expired on Dec. 31. Nike said it had the right to match any competing offer in the following 180 days -- which the sportswear company said it did with a three-year, $405,000 offer. It sued for breach of contract in April, but dropped the case Thursday even though it said it was confident its argument would hold up in court.

“As a running company, we also recognize that this is a significant time for Boris and in light of the judge’s decision to delay the ruling until June 28th, the eve of the Olympic Trials, we decided to eliminate this distraction for Boris,” Nike said in a statement.

Fellow 800-meter specialist and ex-Nike runner Nick Symmonds tweeted in early June that Nike’s reduction clauses were one of the reasons why he signed with Brooks Sports Inc. in early 2014.

Nike’s lawyers argued in court filings that Merhawi Keflezighi, Berian’s agent, didn’t disclose New Balance’s lack of reductions to Nike.

The case was particularly trying for Berian. Before emerging with a 1:43.34 run in the 800 meters, Berian worked at a McDonald’s in Colorado to support himself while he trained. Keflezighi created a crowd-funding page on June 21 to help Berian pay his legal fees, which Keflezighi said could exceed $25,000. Prior to Nike dropping the lawsuit, the page had raised $5,247.

Symmonds, along with Brooks marketing manager Jesse Williams and Oiselle Running Chief Executive Officer Sally Bergesen, filed depositions supporting Berian. Both Williams and Bergesen said that reduction clauses aren’t standard in track and field contracts.

By Katherine Greifeld; editors: Joe Schneider and Charles Carter.