![]() ![]() Notably, the first spikes including a full-length rigid plate within the midsole were introduced by Nike at the 2020 Diamond League in Monaco (14th of August 2020), and their impact was immediate. Since the launch of CFP shoes by Nike in 2016, the men’s and women’s world records in long-distance road running (i.e., from 5 km to the marathon) have all been broken by athletes wearing CFP shoes (Table 1), raising concerns that the introduction of this technology leads to a distinct non-physiological advantage. Kosgei’s previous personal best times were 2:18:35 h:min:sec and 2:18:20 h:min:sec set at the 2018 Chicago and 2019 London marathons, respectively. The following day, Eliud’s compatriot, Brigid Kosgei ran 2:14:04 h:min:sec in the Chicago marathon using Nike prototype CFP shoes, breaking Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old women’s marathon record by over a minute. On 12th October 2019, Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge ran 42.2 km in 1:59:40 h:min:sec, racing in personalised carbon fibre plate (CFP) shoes (i.e., Nike Alphafly) in an unofficial event in Vienna. This simple and practical solution would prevent shoe technology from having too large an impact on the energy cost of running and, therefore, determining the performance outcome. A potential solution to solve this issue can involve the reduction of the stack height of a shoe to 20 mm. The postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics provides a unique opportunity for reflection by the world of sport and time to commission an independent review to evaluate the impact of technology on the integrity of sporting competition. ![]() This is a particular problem in sports such as athletics where the primary sponsor of the athlete is very often a footwear manufacturing company. The recently modified rules governing competition shoes for elite athletes, announced by World Athletics, that includes sole thickness must not exceed 40 mm and must not contain more than one rigid embedded plate, appear contrary to the true essence and credibility of sport as access to this performance-defining technology becomes the primary differentiator of sporting performance in elite athletes. The latest CFP shoes are acknowledged to increase running economy by more than 4%, corresponding to a greater than 2% improvement in performance/run time. This step-wise increase in performance coincides with recent advancements in shoe technology that increase the elastic properties of the shoe thereby reducing the energy cost of running. Every women’s and men’s world records from 5 km to the marathon has been broken since the introduction of carbon fibre plate (CFP) shoes in 2016.
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