Hasset Kifle accepts her award
Mark Lewis/Mark Lewis Photography
The world is moving forward at an unimaginable rate, with the rapid progression of technology leading this bullet train into the unknown. The innate need for humans to constantly find the next best thing has percolated into the world of sports, too, where technological advancements are raising the question: how far is too far?
Running is an integral measurement of our physical and mental capabilities. It is a sport that thrives on immense competition: athlete versus athlete and athlete versus time. It has also become a playground for world-leading brands.
“Technology doping” is a term used to highlight the competitive advantages afforded by high-tech sports equipment, and it has forced a notable perspective shift on what it means to be an athlete. The top 10 fastest marathons by men and by women were all run in the past seven years, apart from Paula Radcliffe’s race in 2003, as were the top 10 half-marathons.
Why is this the case? It is, at least partly, because of shoes – footwear so effective they have been dubbed “super shoes”. Rigorous testing, in the lab and on the world stage, has provided clear evidence of how these shoes enhance an athlete’s performance. Four factors are key: the shoe’s midsole foam, a shock absorber that cushions the feet from the impact of hitting the ground; a curved carbon-fibre plate (a rigid insole in the midsole designed to increase the efficiency of each stride); the overall stack height – the amount of material between your foot and the floor; and the breathable “upper” covering the shoe, intended to keep the foot cool and dry. These different components work together to produce something lightweight, highly cushioned and flexible to maximise the energy returned to the athlete to propel them forwards, all while minimising the amount of energy exerted by the person themselves.
Super shoes have been found to return 87 per cent more energy compared with regular running shoes, greatly improving a runner’s efficiency and speed. They were first popularised in 2016 when Nike released the Nike Vaporfly, which were worn by the top three male finishers in the marathon at the 2016 Olympics. Research, partly funded by Nike, has shown that the Vaporfly can improve how efficiently oxygen is used in your body by 4 per cent, compared with other marathon-running shoes. This means a desired pace can be sustained for longer, resulting in a faster time.
However, shoes like the Vaporfly have also drawn controversy, as a number of records have been broken by athletes wearing them. To combat this, governing body World Athletics has implemented regulations on the features that super shoes can have. The maximum stack height must not exceed 40 millimetres, for example, and the shoes must have no more than one carbon plate.
Critics have also raised concerns that today’s athletes don’t meet the standards of the past due to the huge advantage technology has given them. One proposed solution to this issue is keeping separate lists for technology-assisted records, but this raises the question: who is the major competitor, athletes or the brands producing these innovative technologies?
There could also be psychological effects associated with super shoes, with athletes believing that they need to wear them in order to run a faster time, therefore becoming reliant on their shoes rather than focusing on what they could improve physically.
Of course, athletes want to have their names in the record books and people want to watch records being broken, especially in fast-paced, thrilling events like the 100 and 200 metres, which are full of big personalities like Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson. But will all of this come at a cost?
At the heart of it, running is the ultimate test of fitness, whether that is muscular strength in short sprints or the cardiovascular strength required in a marathon. It is always a battle between mind and body that begins even before the gun even goes off. As someone who has competed at various distances, from 300 metres to 5 kilometres, and trained with athletes who wear super shoes, it is important for me to have the ability to progress in the sport, but also for the sport to progress with me. If that comes at the loss of its credibility, then it seems that the world has an important choice to make.
The Young Science Writer Award is run by the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW).
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