Torun (Poland) (AFP)
The subject stirs up conversations and divides athletes: the emergence of new shoes with, in particular, carbon blades, which have revolutionized running, continues to arouse passions at the European Indoor Championships.
It has become the fashionable sport in the arenas of the Arena de Torun: observing the models used by each competitor and scrutinizing their chronometric evolution.
It must be said that the succession of performances and records established since 2020 challenges the world of athletics and sows confusion.
After being all the rage on the road, the appearance on the track of this new technology, which combines a carbon plate and special foam, was accompanied by a slew of spectacular lap times.
In the space of a year, the world records in the 5,000m (men and women) and 10,000m (men) fell, erasing legends of the caliber of Kenenisa Bekele or Tirunesh Dibaba from the shelves.
The International Federation has tried to put some order in the house by banning prototypes and limiting the thickness of the tips to 30 mm with a single authorized carbon plate.
But the damage is done and the arms race has indeed started between the brands, which have followed in the footsteps of the American pioneer Nike, and between the athletes, anxious to obtain the magic pairs as quickly as possible.
What create a distortion between the happy beneficiaries and the others.
"The postponement of the Olympic Games is a blessing in relation to the values of equality, judges Pierre-Ambroise Bosse. These new points would have completely upset and destabilized the Olympics. Not everyone has access to these shoes yet."
- Shades -
"Technological development is part of sports performance, but everyone must be able to benefit from it," said Florian Rousseau, performance director at the French Federation.
Bosse, currently without a sponsor, says he is "lucky": in the absence of an appointed supplier, he has plenty of time to try and opt for the shoes of his choice.
In Torun, the 2017 800 m world champion set his sights on Nike's "Air Zoom Victory" in the series (a carbon plate, cushions at the front, for distances ranging from 800 to 1500 m).
His point of view is final.
"These shoes when you put them on, even when walking, you feel a difference immediately. The gain, before the performance, is particularly important in terms of recovery and pain. It is huge for the sequence of races", he believes.
Bosse continued his tests on Saturday by winning his semi-final in New Balance, carbon-free, "the best model on the market", according to him.
Athletes benefiting from an equipment supplier take them more gloves before recognizing the benefits of their new shoes.
If Hugo Hay, entered in the 3000m in Torun and sponsored by Nike, admitted to L'Equipe gains that could go "up to a second and a half per km", the others want to be more nuanced.
"Everyone is on fire but the Nike Dragonfly (with a foam but without a carbon plate, editor's note) does not save me seconds on the track, says the French Jimmy Gressier, 2nd European time of the year out of 3000 m indoors. For me, there is no controversy. On the other hand, the Vaporfly (from Nike, note) on the road is something extraordinary, there is a glaring difference in timing. "
- "Placebo effect" -
"We can not link the results for a year and those of this winter to technology, says the middle cross-country skier Simon Denissel. It is more linked to the long period without competition due to Covid-19. Those who have spent more time in training are more efficient. There is also the placebo effect, whoever does not have these shoes thinks they are at a disadvantage. "
The Norwegian prodigy Jakob Ingebrigtsen, shod by Nike, is for his part downright annoyed by the question.
"For me, there is no debate and there is no problem. If you don't know how to run, you won't run well, with or without these spikes," he said.
Bosse emphasizes the "hypocrisy" of the athletics community.
"The athletes who had these points preferred not to talk about it at the beginning. But now, when you talk to them eye to eye, they tell you that it has nothing to do," he testifies.
The debate is only just beginning since innovative models have already started to flourish on the jumpers and among the sprinters.
What to give headaches to World Athletics.
© 2021 AFP