What are Super Shoes and how do they cause technological doping?

It was in 1960 when Abebe Bilkula had amazed the world when this unknown person won the Olympic marathon. He attracted the world's attention then as he was the first east African to win the medal and ran barefoot. He won in Tokyo 4 years later but this time he wore shoes. This year too at the Tokyo Olympics the athletes have delivered great performances and have partially attributed this to their high technology shoes. Now this has led to a debate over technological doping. 

Super Shoes: What has happened?

Since the Rio Olympics 2016, various national and personal athletics records have been broken, owing  to what are described as super shoes.  

These high tech shoes have been praised in the past for transforming track and field. They have also been slammed by purists, who find these new footwear has ruined athletics. 

Even at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, athletes have delivered good performances owing to the shoes they wore. Critics have however not supported such super footwear. It was first developed by American Multinationals like Nike and criticised by several competitors of being a part of technical doping. 

Super Shoes at the Tokyo Olympics 2020:

1. In men's 400 m hurdles, Norway's Gold winning Karsten Warholm beat the world record by 0.75 seconds. USA's Sydney McLaughlin had the same fate in women's 400 m hurdles. Various other athletes have broken this record. 
2. Jamaica's Elaine Thompson Herah won Gold in both 100 m and 200 m sprints, breaking the 33 old Olympics record.
3. Also in triple jump, Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas wona  Gold and set the World record.   
4. Eliud Kipchoge of Ethiopia became the third person in history to win two consecutive Olympic races, finishing the race in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 38 seconds. 

What caused the debate over this issue?

The debate first started when Eliud Kipchoge won the race in Vienna in 2019 under two hours. The timing was however not taken into account then. But two weeks after Kipchoge's win, another athlete of Ethiopia Kenesisa Bekele, another runner used the Vaporfly and beat the previous record two seconds early. 

It was then a day after the two hour barrier record was broken, Kenya's Brigid Kosgei broke the 16 year old record at the Chicago marathon. 

When Kipchoge made the first attempt to break the 2 hour barrier, he fell short of 26 seconds. It was said that the shoe he wore gave him the advantage. These shoes were Vaporfly Elite, series of Nike shoes. These are said to give the athletes 4% more energy than usual. 

What Makes Super Shoes? 

The features of the shoes are:

1. Cushioned air unit for stability and the spring
2. Full length carbon plate for propulsive and stable feel
3. Woven and synthetic upper for secure and lightweight containment
4. Notched laces that have less chance of untying mid race
5. Shockwave patterns at the base to avoid shocks to the feet. 

The shoes also have track spikes underneath to give the runners a grip. 

They also have super spikes that combine a unique foam with a carbon fibre plate that is rigid. 

Traditional spikes had the midsole foam in order to decrease the weight and energy absorption. 

Super spikes have a better foam to return as much as 80-90% of the energy to the athlete and the carbon fibre plate gives the athlete a more effective push-off. 

These super shoes are approved by the World Athletics but with a  few reservations on the foam thickness and other parameters. But this year at the Tokyo Olympics these shoes have said to increase the speed of the athletes too. 

The shoes are however now being criticised as they are reducing the human effort which is contested in the Olympic races. The athletes must be rewarded for their efforts and not their choice of footwear.

Lionel Messi Biography: Age, wife, family, football career, world records, FC Barcelona and more