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Kelvin Kiptum's World Record-breaking shoes has been a topic of debate since the Kenyan's jaw-dropping performance in Chicago. Here's what sports analyst Joe Pompliano detaild explanation on the shoes.
At the 2023 Chicago Marathon, Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum did the unthinkable by breaking Eliud Kipchoge's marathon World Record with an incredibe 2:00.35 to take 34 seconds off the previous record .
By doing this, the 23-year-old became the first man ever to break the 2:01 barrier in just his third marathon ever.
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His victory was less than six months from his 2:01:25 London Marathon win, which saw him become the second-fastest marathon runner of all time, and his maiden race began with a 2:01:53 debut in Valencia last December.
Kiptum even had enough energy to celebrate his historic performance on the way to the finish line – pointing to the crowds and the tape on his approach.
Despite having a convincing victory, his shoes have become a topic of debate. One which popular sports analyst Joe Pompliano detailed on his X (formerly Twitter) page on all that is needed to know.
"Many academic papers have been written on the increased performance of marathon runners over the last decade.
But the easiest way to explain the situation is that new “super shoe” technology emerged in 2016, and marathon times have vastly improved.
It started with Nike’s $250 Vaporfly 4% running shoe — but virtually all super shoes contain two elements:
1) Thick soles made with superlight, energy-returning foam, and 2) rigid plates, often made of carbon fiber, that create a springlike effect for runners.
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These shoes helped Eliud Kipchoge obliterate the men’s marathon world record time by more than 1 minute in 2018 with a 2:01:39 finish in Berlin.
Kipchoge even became the first person in history to finish a marathon in less than two hours when he completed the INEOS 1:59 challenge in Vienna in 2019.
However, Kipchoge’s sub-2 hour time didn’t officially count because he used a rotating cast of 7 pacemakers in a V formation to shield him from the wind.
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12:30 - 14.10.2023
ATHLETICS Marathon legend explains why Eliud Kipchoge and Kelvin Kiptum could be a problem for Kenya at Paris Olympics
Kenyan marathon legend Ibrahim Hussein feels the country could lose out big if Eliud Kipchoge and Kelvin Kiptum stick to their guns at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Eluid Kipchoge isn’t the only one to benefit from super shoes. All of Nike’s competitors — Adidas, Brooks, Saucony, New Balance, Hoka, and Asics — now sell super shoes.
More than half of all sub-3 hour marathons are now completed by runners using some brand of super shoes, and Tigst Assesfa from Ethiopia recently shattered the women’s world marathon record by more than 2 minutes at the 2023 Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:11:53 wearing a pair of Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1.
For context, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 shoes by Adidas weigh just 138 grams (60% of the weight in Adidas’ prior top running shoes) but cost $500 and are designed to be worn just once by professional runners. Aka, they are for the top 1% of runners.
And it’s not like this is all some superstition by runners — the data backs it up.
A 2017 Nike study found that running economy (the amount of oxygen needed to run a specified distance) increased by 4% when examining 18 runners using super shoes.
A 2019 New York Times study found runners wearing Nike’s super shoes ran 4% to 5% faster than runners who wore average running shoes and 2% to 3% faster than runners who wore the next fastest popular shoe.
And last but not least, each of the Top 10 all-time marathon records kept by World Athletics have happened between 2018 and 2023 during the super shoe craze.
But just because marathon times are improving doesn’t mean the shoes are illegal.
In fact, World Athletics (the sports governing body for track and field) released new “Athletic Shoe Regulations” in December 2021. These regulations included several stipulations for approving shoes, and they grandfathered in Nike’s line of super shoes.
• Shoes must have no sole thicker than 40mm
• Shoes must have no more than one rigid structure (e.g. a carbon fiber plate)
• Shoes must be available for purchase by consumers for at least 1 month
• Shoes can have a different timeframe for purchase outside of the Athletic Shoe Regulations 1-month sale period or for developmental use with prior approval
So while many people claim runners are receiving an unfair advantage, this is really just par for the course.
None of the shoes used to break records have been deemed illegal by World Athletics’ Shoe Regulations, and training and technology have increased human performance across every sport for decades.
That’s why it’s hard to compare different eras — like Mickey Mantle vs. Mike Trout, Larry Bird vs. LeBron James, or Mark Spitz vs. Michael Phelps.
Training methods have improved, and recovery techniques have gotten more advanced. This is ultimately good for sports, as it allows all athletes to make progress and creates a new performance standard for each generation to build upon.
Super shoes started as a cutting-edge technology that was only available to 1% of the world’s best runners.
But now these shoes are being made by several different companies, and virtually anyone can get them — as long as you have $200+ to spare!
This technological progress has continued to push the pace of innovation. So while a sub-2-hour marathon was once believed to be impossible, it feels increasingly likely that 23-year-old Kelvin Kiptum will accomplish it in the near future," wrote Pompliano.
** This breakdown is an excerpt from my 3x weekly podcast (top 50 in sports). Subscribe below so you don't miss any episodes in the future.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-joe-pomp-show/id1593114026…
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5PLKKWZNoSvGX97kXTGZRW?si=a02362e480ac406e
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