Athletics fans were treated to one of the greatest performances in history yesterday when Karsten Warholm tore an astonishing 0.76 seconds off his own world record in the final of the 400-metre hurdles in Tokyo.
Yet the Norwegian’s “breathtaking” victory immediately ignited a row over footwear technology, with many athletes believing that new designs have helped records to tumble at the Games.
Warholm, 25, who comes from Ulsteinvik, a small coastal town about 400 miles south of the Arctic Circle, could barely believe his eyes when he crossed the line in 45.94 seconds, a time many racers thought impossible. The second-placed athlete, the American Rai Benjamin, also looked stunned when he realised that his time, more than half a second faster than the previous world record, would secure him only the silver medal.
Commentators compared the race to Usain Bolt’s record-breaking 9.58-second sprint in the 100 metres final of the 2009 World Championships. Colin Jackson, twice the world 110m hurdles champion, said: “I am truly in shock. This is one of the most outstanding world records and I’m pretty sure that world record will outlive me.”
However, Warholm’s post-race comments put the spotlight on the assistance sprinters are receiving from their shoes. He criticised the sport for allowing athletes, such as second-placed Benjamin, to run in Nike spikes that contain a slab of spongy foam.
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He said: “I don’t see why you should put anything beneath a sprinting shoe. In the middle distance, I can understand it because of the cushioning. If you want cushioning, you can put a mattress there. But if you put a trampoline I think it’s bullshit, and I think it takes credibility away from our sport.”
His comments came despite wearing Puma spikes that were designed in partnership with the Mercedes Formula One team and contain a carbon-fibre plate to aid energy transfer. When asked about his footwear, Warholm said that his team had worked with the two companies to make the shoe “as credible as it can be”.
He added: “Yes, we have the carbon plate but we have tried to make it as thin as possible because that’s the way that I would like to do it.”
Puma’s Faster+ spikes have a thinner sole than Nike’s Victory spikes. Puma did not respond when asked for a specification of its shoe. The company’s promotional material says the key element is the “extremely lightweight and extremely strong” carbon-fibre plate.
Nike’s shoe technology has already had a transformational impact on the times of the best long-distance runners, including Eliud Kipchoge, who wore a pair of Nike Vaporflys when he became the first man to run a marathon in less than two hours. The shoes are designed to give athletes a slightly longer stride and help to minimise the energy expended per stride. With similar technology now being used by track athletes over shorter distances, sprint world records are tumbling. Earlier in the Games, the Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah, who wears Nikes, beat Florence Griffith Joyner’s 100m record, which had stood for 33 years.
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Until recently there were no rules on the thickness of the soles in track spikes, except in the high jump and long jump. But last year World Athletics allowed a maximum of 20mm for races up to 400m and 25mm for longer distances.
Warholm also suggested that track technology had played a part.
