IT FINALLY HAPPENED…

Sunday. Tropical storm Florence wreaks havoc on the east coast of the United States. In Mexico, residents celebrate their 208th year of independence. And the day is just getting started. Throughout the world, events transpire with typical normalcy. And for most, this was just another lazy Sunday. However, in Berlin, Germany, one single moment changed the entire sport of running forever. This is the Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge. For the previous four years building up to this day, he had been undefeated in the marathon, winning the world's most competitive endurance races by historically large margins. This racing background placed him as the undisputed greatest marathon runner on the planet. However, on this one day, September 16th of 2018, he would at long last claim the official world record, and he took down the previous mark by an enormous margin. With this performance, he covered 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 1 minute, and 39 seconds, averaging an overall pace of 4 minutes and 38 seconds per mile. This time obliterated the previous best performance set by Dennis Kometo from just four years earlier, where he ran a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 57 seconds. If you're doing the math at home, you've now realized that this performance reflects an overall improvement of 1 minute and 18 seconds, which was the largest margin of improvement on the previous marathon world record in over 50 years. After his historic victory, the running community and the world at large joined in together to celebrate this amazing time. But the reality about this performance is that it was strongly assisted by one very important factor, and in the eyes of many, this one world record could very well destroy the integrity of running forever. On the day when Kipchoge broke the marathon record, he was wearing the ever-popular Nike Vaporfly 4% racing flats. Unlike any shoe before them, these flats incorporated novel technologies that were implemented with one specific goal, to increase overall running economy by as much as 4%. This may not seem like much, but over the full marathon distance, and even the half marathon, this can often equate to minutes of improvement. The centerpiece of controversy was Nike's use of one streamlined carbon fiber plate, which when utilized during races, returns a propulsion-like sensation with each and every stride. Unlike previous racing shoes, runners now had the unique ability to rely on a high level of energy return with each and every landing. And as you can imagine, this resulted in many breakthrough performances. Along with the Kenyan athlete Kipchoge, Kenenisa Bekele, Burhanu Lagesse, and Mozenit Garimu were also able to improve on the previous world record, and they all managed these times using Nike Vaporfly technologies. To this day, they are still ranked as the top 4 fastest marathon athletes of all time. On the women's side, the world saw the exact same story. In 2019, Kenyan runner Bridget Koske broke the previous world record of Paula Radcliffe, achieving a time of 2 hours 14 minutes and 4 seconds, which, coincidentally, improved on the old record by almost the exact same margin as Kipchoge. And for this performance, Over the course of just one year, the implementation of this new technology represented a paradigm shift in the sport of running. However, these improvements did not just stop with road racing, because they also made a very strong appearance on the track. After the Vaporfly explosion of 2019, Nike introduced a brand new line of road racing flats and also track spikes. This line included the Nike Alphafly, the Nike Air Zoom Victory, and the Nike Dragonfly, which has recently been a part of many world record breakthroughs. These new shoes were introduced with the exact same rigid plate inserts as its road racing predecessors, and just like the marathon, records have been falling like never before. On October 7th of 2020, both Joshua Cheptegei and Letecinbet Gide set new distance running world records, both taking down historic performances that had stood strong for well over a decade. This world record day, as it was labeled, was an amazing display of speed, but once again, on the feet of both athletes, was the green neon swoosh from Nike. It is crucial to mention that these new racing shoes have all met the World Athletics criteria for international competition, making them all legal options for world record running. However, there is one more shoe that has recently been denied. This is the Nike Viperfly. This shoe is specifically designed for the 100 meters, and after months and months of testing, it has officially been dismissed from international competitions. According to the Times, beta testing on this shoe showcased startling results, unlike anything World Athletics has ever seen in the past. Now, no exact numbers have been released, however, fears have recently surfaced that this one spike could potentially undermine the legacy of Usain Bolt and possibly threaten the integrity of sprinting forever. The date is August 16th of 2009. Coincidentally, the location of this legendary moment is the exact same as Cheptegei's marathon world record, Berlin, Germany. In the men's 100 meters, this tall and powerful Jamaican athlete set the still standing world record with a time of 9.58 seconds, leaving his competition in his dust. Unlike any time before this moment, this performance dipped under 9.6 seconds, and to this day, no other athlete has ever been within 1 tenth of a second of this time. The reality is that no one else has ever been able to match Usain Bolt, but according to multiple outlets and months and months of analyses, the Viperfly is getting close. And possibly, it's getting too close. Unlike any other shoe, the Viperfly actually failed to meet the appropriate criteria amid concerns that its one detached spike plate was acting as a secondary spring. This plate, or as many have called it, the Viperfang, was created to aid sprinters in the closing stages of their races. With such a unique design, athletes have reportedly been able to maintain their speeds towards the end of their sprints, and thus, faster times have recently been achieved. Throughout this entire process, World Athletics has once again been rewriting its shoe regulations for energy return and overall design. The key factor at the heart of this discussion is where exactly do you draw the line between innovation and overall racing fairness? Personally, I have been very pleased over the previous few years that innovation has been rewarded instead of punished. However, the Viperfly is perhaps approaching that line a little too closely. And now, it's your turn. What is your opinion on the Nike Viperflys? Is their overall design fair? And should they be allowed for international competition? Leave a comment down below and share your thoughts. Thanks for watching, everyone. And as always, until next time.