In May of 2017, Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge achieved the impossible when he ran the first ever sub 2 hour marathon. Many questioned what had changed since his previous attempts to break 2 hours to that race, and the only change were the shoes he was wearing.
Kipchoge was working with Nike's top running science team to design a “perfect” running shoe. A shoe that could give the runner support, a light design, and most importantly maximum energy return. Kipchoge ran in an unreleased prototype shoe that had a carbon fiber plate inside of the shoe's foam midsole. The controversy was struck immediately by critics. The shoe he wore wasn’t open to a public market, and the carbon fiber plate innovation was labeled as “technological doping” as it literally helped spring the runner forward as he ran. Nike responded by labeling the shoe the Vaporfly and releasing it to the public through their website for $250 before taxes and fees. This made the shoe, which was designed specifically for Kipchoge, open to the public so that technically any runner could wear it. This eased some criticism of Nike’s team, leaving only complaints about the carbon fiber plate and of course the price of the shoe.
There are two opposing arguments about the “technological doping” shoe controversy. Some argue that the shoes should be allowed in races while others argue that they should be banned. Since the athletes themselves are not doping and any amount of energy returned they get out of the shoe is only a result of the energy the athlete applied into the ground, people argue that the shoes should be fine to wear for marathon competitions. The argument against the carbon fiber plated shoes is that the shoes provide an unfair advantage to athletes who have them because they return more energy to the athlete than what is natural when running, and thus, the shoe would be changing many aspects of the sport and the sport’s original intentions. After much debate, since Nike allowed any runner to buy the shoe, if they could afford it, it was allowed in competition. However, the times runners run in the shoes would not technically count as legal because of new regulations. Kipchoge ran a marathon in 1:59:40.2 seconds which was an incredible feat, but that time does not count as the world record.
Since 2017 Nike’s top running science team has been looking into new ways to propel not only marathon running innovations but innovations in track and field as well. During the 2020 Nike Forum event the track and field was showcasing four new pairs of shoes that would be for marathon and track and field racing. The Nike AlphaFly, Nike Air Zoom Victory, Nike Air Zoom Tempo, and the Nike ViperFly. The Nike Viperfly was the only shoe not allowed by World Athletics to be used for competition. The Viperfly was a track spike designed with one purpose, to break the world record set by Usain Bolt in the 100 meter dash of 9.58. They were designed only for the 100m dash and not other events. Nike had worked together with the United States’ best runners in the event to not only win the gold medal but make history. There were too many innovations in the shoe including a custom carbon plate through the shoe, an elevated mid-foot which wouldn’t contact the ground, Nike Air Zoom units on the forefoot, and other new designs. The shoe was never released to the public by Nike which disappointed the track community.
There still remains much debate over how far track innovations in shoe technology should go. Is more better or does it change the sport too much? Lowellville athlete Drew Modelski who owns one of Nike's innovative track shoes doesn’t think they provide an unfair advantage. Even though expanding technology can push the sport to new levels, the track community is still at a crossroads when it comes to the new era of “super shoes.”
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