Olympic 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin wore a Nike outfit

The US footwear and equipment firm saw healthy sales of branded sports gear, particularly in the US and Europe.

Pre-tax income during the three months rose to $505.5m (�283m) while revenues jumped 18% to $3.6bn.

Nike, whose products are endorsed by Tiger Woods among others, said revenues hit record levels over the quarter.

Great start

"We are off to a great start," said Nike chairman and chief executive Philip Knight.

"These results reflect both the strength of our brands and our ability to execute across our portfolio of businesses."

The strong growth in futures is further evidence of the strength of our brand and product lines across the world Nike chief Philip Knight Check Nike's share price

Nike's performance came in comfortably ahead of market expectations.

The firm was boosted by the Athens Olympics in which many of the world's leading athletes wore Nike products.

The firm enjoyed double digit growth in income in both the United States and Europe, although income fell in Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

Future orders from September onwards are up 9.9% with US orders at their highest level in seven years.

"The strong growth in futures is further evidence of the strength of our brand and product lines across the world," Knight added.