BECAUSE OF TECHNOLOGICAL DOPING, NIKE ALPHAFLYS WERE BANNED FROM THE TOKYO OLYMPICS

 

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge did something no one had ever done before in October 2019: he finished a marathon in under two hours. His time of 1:59:40 was achieved at an average speed of 21.18km/h (try that for 30 seconds the next time you're on the treadmill).

Some believe the unofficial record was affected by the Nike Alphafly sneakers he was wearing. The Alphaflys, termed "the shoe that broke running" by sports scientist Dr. Ross Tucker, have technologies designed to increase energy return and speed.

According to a peer-reviewed study – albeit funded by Nike – the shoe produced a 4% increase in running economy and a 3.4 percent increase in speed thanks to a trio of carbon plates.

The Alphaflys, on the other hand, were prohibited from elite competition under the new World Athletics rules, which were revealed in January 2020. A shoe must have no more than one carbon fibre plate and a midsole height of no more than 40mm, according to the new rules.

However, the story does not end there. Nike has designed a modified version, the Vaporfly, that meets the new requirements, and the shoe finished 31st out of 36 major marathons in 2019. Nike's invention is acclaimed by fans, but it is attacked by others as technical doping.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is well-known for its anti-doping initiatives. WADA's mission, however, includes sports equipment, and it will suggest to a sport's governing body that a specific item be restricted if it is deemed to be "against the spirit of the activity."

However, because most equipment is designed to boost performance, many items, such as Speedo's LZR Racer swimsuit, fall within the gray area. The body-length garment contains textures inspired by shark skin to increase buoyancy.

Athletes wearing the LZR Racer broke 23 of the 25 swimming records set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation), the sport's regulatory body, outlawed the suit in 2009.

The legal Vaporflys appear to be ordinary shoes on the outside. However, minor differences add up to have a significant influence. According to the British Journal Of Sports Medicine, the carbon-fibre plate, midsole material, and midsole thickness lie at the heart of the Vaporfly's efficiency.

The full-length plate stiffens the shoe and acts as a lever to lessen ankle work. According to Nike-funded but peer-reviewed studies, this boosts running efficiency by 1.5 percent. The carbon plate's hardness may feel uncomfortable on its own, but this is offset by the midsole's thickness, which measures 31mm at the heel.

A midsole this thick would add weight to a typical race shoe, but it doesn't since it's made of Pebax foam, a polyamide block elastomer. Air pods are being used as an additional suspension mechanism in some of the most recent versions.

It is impossible to calculate the overall benefit that each item delivers. According to the British Journal Of Sports Medicine, the stability, energy economy, and comfort supplied by the sneakers are more effective for some runners than for others, with increases in run times ranging from 6% to zero.

Differences in arch shape, foot width, and run stride all have an impact on a shoe's competence, as evidenced by the variation in performance increases for runners using the Vaporfly. As a result, individualized footwear is perfect.

And it's happening right now, with Adidas using 3D foot-scanning technology and 3D printing to construct a prototype of their Futurecraft run shoe. This has progressed to the Strung shoe, which will be introduced in late 2022.

Technology may be used in the future to help you run faster by lowering your perceived exertion. This is based on brain manipulation using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which is gaining popularity.

Sending a low current over your grey matter, according to the notion, teaches your brain to retain stronger neural signals while flagging, resulting in faster timings. tDCS products are already on the market, with big promises that have yet to be proven by independent study.