New running shoes enable better results than before.
Citius, altius, fortius, meaning faster, higher and stronger. The motto of the Olympic movement is most certainly true in the sprint running of the 2020s, when new footwear enables better results than before.
– This is the same type of jump as from gravel tracks to artificial surfaces, says Iltalehti’s athletics expert Arto Bryggare.
Two years ago, around the time of the Tokyo Olympics, various equipment manufacturers introduced sprint spikes called kangaroo shoes. ME results have been achieved with them, for example in the 400-meter hurdles, in Norway Karsten Warholm (45.94) and the USA Sydney McLaughlin (50.68), and in the women’s 100m hurdles in Nigeria Tobi Amusan (12,12).
– Of course, I would have run the 110-meter hurdles seconds faster if there had been spikes in the 2020s in the 1980s, Bryggare jokes.
– Seriously speaking: with carbon fiber in running shoes and tracks that are always getting faster, the development is really significant, the expert adds.
Like levers
Expert Arto Bryggare presents the development of sprint spikes over a period of 50 years. PASI LEISMA
This story features Bryggare’s long-term partner Adidas’ sprint spikes from 50 years.
– This shoe has raised toes. As a result, the running position is slightly higher from the top, so it makes it easier especially for shorter athletes. The footwear is really tight and puts a lot of strain on the tendon area. But it gives an advantage when there is a carbon fiber structure and an increase in the base, so it is easier to produce a pop during the contact phase, Bryggare says and shakes the 2023 novelty equipment in his hands.
– Stiffness and lightness are core issues. When the shoe is stiff, it’s like a lever. If the athlete does not have powder to keep the foot in contact, this will help, and there will be no leakage, the expert clarifies.
Väätäinen’s idea
The white running shoes in the photo were used approximately between 2005 and 2015. The ones in the picture above are model year 2023. PASI LEISMA
Today, kangaroo shoes are used, but 50 years ago, sprint spikes made of kangaroo skin were used. They were designed for new running tracks made of polyurethane.
– Juha Väätäinen developed a heel wedge for Adidas in , but otherwise the sole was flat. The spike had to fit like a glove: not hard, but loose.
Kangaroo skin was abandoned for ethical reasons already in the last millennium. Nowadays, the main material of footwear is carbon fiber.
– Current spikes cost several hundred euros, but the kangaroo skin spikes of the 1972 Munich Olympics were clearly more expensive than today’s equipment.
End of finds
The black sprint spikes in the picture were made for the 1972 Munich Olympics and the white gold ones for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. PASI LEISMA
Bryggare ran Olympic bronze in 1984 in Los Angeles with handmade spikes. The shoes are soft and flexible in every direction.
– Nobody could use something like this today, for example because of the tracks.
Mondo is nowadays the coating of more and more athletics stadiums.
In the 2000s, we switched from loose running shoes to harder ones. They already had some carbon fiber, but the main material was plastic.
– The grip of the shoes was much more essential than before. The grip utilized the contact phase so that the athlete’s joints do not fail. We tried to help athletes so that they don’t have to put in so much effort, Bryggare says and presents the “plastic shoes” that were in use between 2005 and 2015.
One could argue that the runners of the past years were better than in the 2020s, when the equipment was weaker…
– It’s always like that. Stadiums wouldn’t be enough for spearmen, nor watches for sprinters.
From left to right, the sprinters of 1972, 1984, 2005 and 2023. PASI LEISMA