Paris (AFP)

Let it run or crack down? The controversial latest generation shoes from Nike pose a real challenge to the International Athletics Federation, torn between a necessary regulation to preserve sporting equity and the need to develop technological innovation, even if it means lasting changes to the practice of running. foot.

The debate has raged in the world of "running" since the appearance on the market of the "Vaporfly" from Nike, with a carbon blade in the sole and air cushions. Revolutionary models that are wreaking havoc on both professionals and amateurs and have quickly led to extraordinary performance.

On October 12, 2019, the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, marathon world record holder, broke the symbolic 2 hour bar by completing the 42.195 km in 1 h 59 min 40 sec thanks to a new prototype of "Vaporfly", baptized Alphafly ( three carbon blades in the sole and four air cushions), during an unlicensed race. The day after this exploit, her compatriot Brigid Kosgei exploded by more than one minute and twenty the world record for the marathon long held by the British Paula Radcliffe (2 h 14 min 04) with the same sneakers on their feet, in their version marketed since 2017 (only one carbon blade in the sole).

To drive the point home, a statistical analysis of the New York Times showed that the runners wearing "Vaporfly" run between 4 and 5% faster than the others on the marathon. According to the specialized site Lepape, 73 athletes from the top 100 men improved their personal best during the Corrida International de Houilles (10 km in the Paris region), at the end of December, with an average gain of more than 44 seconds (a chasm at this level), while 68 runners in the top 100 were equipped with Nike Vaporfly.

- The precedent of swimming -

Frenchman Jimmy Gressier took the opportunity to become the 2nd best European performer of all time over 10 km ahead of quadruple British Olympic champion Mo Farah and Liv Westphal erased the French record of Clémence Calvin with a gain of twenty minutes his best time.

What challenge the International Federation, whose regulations are very vague on the issue. World Athletics (ex-IAAF) therefore decided to set up a panel of experts, composed of officials, athletes, doctors, scientists and legal experts, responsible for issuing recommendations in the days that come to "encourage the development and use of new technologies while preserving the basic characteristics of sport".

It is urgent especially since several other brands are working on shoes with carbon blades. During the Houston half-marathon, two Adidas athletes (Philemon Kiplimo, 4th in 59'28 and Abel Kipchumba, 5th in 59'35) notably distinguished themselves on January 19 with white prototypes with heels appearing even more reinforced than the Vaporfly from Nike.

World Athletics is now facing the same phenomenon as the International Swimming Federation, which was forced to ban polyurethane coveralls in 2010 after an avalanche of records.

- "Stop the escalation" -

"Athletics is a universal and fair sport, everyone has access to the same possibilities to express themselves according to their motor skills and there we find ourselves in something that does not make things fair. I would find it a shame that World Athletics does not give a directive that maintains this state of mind, "said National Technical Director Patrice Gergès to AFP.

According to trainer Jean-Claude Vollmer, member of the "marathon cell" at the French Federation (FFA), "we must regulate to stop the escalation and the arms race, otherwise we will end up running with improbable stuff at the feet."

"Models of shoes have always been faster than others but the difference was tiny, adds the technician, interviewed by AFP. There, it is as if out of two sprinters at the start, one is on a track ash and the other on a synthetic. We buy the + perf +. This drift is dangerous. "

Obviously, most "Nike" athletes have a completely different view on the matter.

"Technology is developing and we can't deny it," said Eliud Kipchoge. "It's the person running, not the shoe." The ball is now in the International Federation's court.

© 2020 AFP