Amusan’s feats revive debate on shoe technology
Shoe technology has been in the spotlight since records began to fall last year
Tobi Amusan’s record-setting performance in the 100m hurdles event at the just concluded World Championships drew attention to shoe technology, but the Nigerian said her display had little to do with her footwear.
Amusan, wearing Adidas Adizero Avanti shoes designed for runners competing in 5-10K races, took gold in the 100m hurdles in what was billed as a world record of 12.06 seconds, but was later declared ineligible due to excessive wind speed.
Amusan had already broken the world record earlier that day by running 12.12 in his semifinal at Hayward Field.
“My skills are not focused on spikes,” revealing that he came up with the idea of wearing custom shoes with inflatable foam due to an injury.
“I had patellar fasciitis at the beginning of the season so that set me back for a while. I spoke to Adidas and asked if I could get spikes with a softer sole,” Amusan said.
“A lot of things were recommended to me and I’m comfortable with that, so I used them basically all the time.”
Shoe technology has been in the spotlight since records began to fall last year, with governing body World Athletics trying to draw a line between innovation and giving athletes an unfair advantage.
Current regulations allow shoes to have a maximum thickness of between 20-25mm depending on the test, while for road races they can go up to 40mm.
Sprint spiked shoes cannot have soles thicker than 20mm, which is the same as the shoes Amusan was wearing on Sunday.
The sole thickness for all running shoes in athletics events will be simplified to a 20mm stack height from November 1, 2024, World Athletics said in December.
“I had patella fasciitis at the beginning of the season so that set me back for a while. I spoke to Adidas and requested if I could get spikes with a softer sole,” Amusan said.
“They recommended a lot of stuff and I feel comfortable in that, so I was using them basically the entire time.”
