Sport World Championships in Athletics
The bad suspicion about the new miracle running shoes
As of: 5:44 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
A blessing and a curse – apparently not everything is pink with the new shoes
What: REUTERS
At the World Championships in Athletics, high-tech shoes help numerous athletes win world championship medals. The carbon treads apparently also have side effects. But the exact connection is difficult to prove.
Are they a curse and a blessing at the same time? World Championship stars in high-tech shoes fight for best performances and medals at the track and field title fights in Budapest. Some industry giants have to watch the season highlight from afar injured. “It’s a bit extreme how many world-level athletes are dropping out right now,” said double European champion Gina Lückenkemper. “This whole development with the carbon shoes should be treated with caution. They’re more aggressive. I think that will keep us busy for years to come.”
Belgium’s heptathlon Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam had to give up the fight for World Championship gold due to Achilles tendon problems, hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone from the USA dropped out due to knee problems. “When you talk to the athletes, it’s extreme to find out how many are currently dealing with Achilles tendon or foot problems,” said Lückenkemper. She gets along “very well” with the super kicks. However, they did not pave the way for Germany’s “Sportswoman of the Year” to reach the 100-meter final, which was won by the American Sha’Carri Richardson.
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Frank Busemann, 1996 Olympic silver medalist, is fascinated by progress. “It’s amazing what kind of development has taken place there,” said Busemann, who follows the competitions in Budapest as an ARD expert. In recent years, after the corona pandemic, there has been an enormous development in performance, and the density of competition is very high. “Then there is the material, carbon shoes do their own thing,” said the 48-year-old. “This is an explosive mixture for good performances – but also for injuries.”
Records are attributed to the shoes
The carbon shoes, which became popular a few years ago thanks to successful media marketing, “allow those who wear them to run two to four percent faster on average than the athletes who wear normal shoes,” says Olaf Ueberschär, Professor of Human-Technology Interaction and Biomechanics of the “Berliner Zeitung”. “You can now also see the negative side and see whether the problems in the overall balance are actually more serious than the advantage of the carbon shoe.”
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The exact connection is difficult to prove with the individuality of the athletes. There are many influencing factors that are new in this form: the long pandemic in the meantime without competitions, but with training; followed by an unprecedented density of seasonal highlights. In addition, athletes such as the Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo, who is missing after a muscle fiber tear, or the European champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen, who is taking a break due to foot problems, already have their sights set on the Olympics in Paris in just under twelve months.
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The material definitely has an influence. Some running records are also attributed to footwear. “On the one hand, the soles have become thicker and higher, especially in the shoes that are worn over long distances,” said Gert-Peter Brüggemann, long-time head of the Institute for Biomechanics and Orthopedics at the German Sport University in Cologne.
“This is due to the new, soft and extremely responsible foams in the midsoles. So-called nitro foams are currently being used frequently,” the scientist explained to “zdf.de”. Ultimately, the runner’s muscles are relieved, “the muscle work is reduced at the same running speed. The running economy is getting better.” Some numbers also prove an effect, such as these: In 2017, four men ran times under 2:05 hours in a marathon. Two years later there were 17 such times.
In addition, carbon plates were built into the shoe models. “The primary idea was to stiffen the sole, especially in the forefoot area, and thus reduce energy loss in the metatarsophalangeal joint. However, it has been shown that this has little effect on shoes for long distances and that the dominant advantage results from the new, thick foams,” said Brüggemann. “It’s different with the spikes for the sprint disciplines: The stiff, curved carbon plate in the midsole means that more power can be used via the Achilles tendon for propulsion. However, this also increases the strain on the athlete’s foot and Achilles tendon.”
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Even if the relationship between athletes’ health and performance maximization in top-class sport is not very gentle on the body, a way back from this technology is not to be expected. On the contrary. However, long-term preparation in the training of athletes for the modified loads can help.
Sam Parsons, who lives in the USA and starts over 5000 meters for the German Athletics Association, sees adjustments such as stronger foot muscles as necessary. But this “hypertechnology” is fantastic for sport, he told the “Berliner Zeitung”. “I think this is just the beginning of what’s to come.”
