Florence (Italy) (AFP)

The Dutch Sifan Hassan and the Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei on Wednesday swept aside criticism of the use of the latest generation shoes, fueled by the rain of records falling on the middle distance.

In the space of 48 hours, two 10,000m world records fell for women, first broken by Sifan Hassan (29 min 06 sec 82) on Sunday, before being improved by the Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey (29 min 01 sec 04). These two performances have revived the debate on a supposed "technological doping" since the appearance of the tips equipped with carbon blades, which revolutionized running and caused a runaway of lap times.

"I don't know why everyone is going crazy about technology. We all have new phones, before nobody had them. Is that a reason to come back to radio? everyone has to run on sand, "said Hassan ironically, on the eve of the Diamond League meeting in Florence where she will line up on 1500 m, of which she holds the world title (with the 10,000 m).

"We are a new generation, we have to relax, move on and stop complaining. We have to be positive and have fun," she added.

"Technology is changing the world. We are not living in the 1990s, we have to accept the innovations of new companies, technologies. It is about comfort to achieve our dreams," said Cheptegei for his part. , holder of world records in the 5,000m and 10,000m since last year.

© 2021 AFP