User:Jus.Hong/Mechanical Doping in Athletics

Nike's Vaporfly line of running shoes, first shown in 2016 with Nike's flagship marathon racing shoe as the Nike 4%, released to the public in 2017. This revolutionary and controversial shoe promised its runners that it would boost the users running economy by at least 4%. The press release of this shoe was released in conjunction with a record breaking attempt of the 'Breaking2' project. This project was Nike running's attempt to break one of the last barriers of human distance running, the sub-two hour marathon with three elite runners: Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa, and Zersenay Tadese.

History of running shoes
1852: Running spikes by founder of Boulton company (today Reebok) Joseph William Foster. The spikes were added to the bottom of Plimsolls for improved grip.

1920: 7-time Boston Marathon winner Clarence Demar utilzied crepe thin rubber soles in addition to a leather upper

1925: Adolf Dassler, who invented running shoes in their modern design in the 1920's, developed different sneakers for long-distance runners and sprinters. In 1925 he manufactured the special shoes for athletics (sprinter running and long jump) and patented spikes with a cushion underfoot.

1951: Japan's Shegeki Tanaki wins Boston marathon in split-toe shoe with separate compartment for big toe

1960's: New Balance's Trackster shoe: sole with deep ripples advertised with avoiding injury 1974: Nike Waffle Trainer Released and made famous by Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike

1977: Brooks Vantage introduced EVA polymer material into mid sole of their products resulting in a lighter and more comfortable shoe

2010's: Introduction of carbon fiber plating within the mid soles of shoes.

Nike 2019 controversy
2019 INEOS 159 Challenge was the successful 2019 attempt to break the two hour marathon by Eliud Kipchoge in Vienna, Austria on October 12, 2019. It was here that Eliud sported the new Nike ZoomX AlphaFly shoes to run an unprecident 1:59:40 where discussion first began among governing bodies such as the IAAF to reform shoe technology protocols within their sanctioned races.

2020 world athletics statement on shoe technology
In the IAAF athletics competition rules for 2018-2019, rule 142,143 states that "Such shoes, however, must not be constructed so as to give athletes any unfair assistance or advantage. Any type of shoe used must be reasonably available to all in the spirit of the universality of athletics".

Nike in a quote to the wall street journal, "we respect the world athletics and the spirit of their rules, and we do not create any running shoes that return more energy than the runner expends" Due to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the IAAF in conjunction with the Olympic committee has determined a new set of rules as a result.


 * 1) Any new shoe technology developed after 30 April will have to be available on the open market for four months before an athlete can use it in competition.
 * 2) World Athletics has also introduced an immediate indefinite ban on any shoes that have a sole thicker than 40mm.
 * 3) An immediate indefinite ban has also been introduced on any shoe that contains more than one "rigid embedded plate or blade"
 * 4) For a shoe with spikes, an additional plate (to the plate mentioned above) or other mechanism is permitted, but only for the purpose of attaching the spikes to the sole, and the sole must be no thicker than 30mm

Use of Nike's Vaporfly shoes in professional races

 * Top 4 marathons ever run were run in Nike prototype alpha shoes.


 * Kenya's Brigid Kosgei broke Great Britain's Paula Radcliffe's 2003 world record in a time of 2:14:04 in the 2019 Chicago Marathon wearing Nike's ZoomX AlphaFly Shoe.
 * Fastest every marathon time recorded by Eliud Kipchoge sporting the Nike ZoomX in a time of 1:59:40.

Use of Nike's Vaporfly shoes in triathlon

 * Anne Haug 2019 Ironman World Champion wearing Nike's Next%
 * Lucy Charles-Barkley 2019 runner up in the Ironman World Championship wearing Nike's Next%
 * Ben Hoffman, 4th place in the 2019 Ironman World Championship wearing Nike Next%
 * International Triathlon Union (ITU) as of writing this article will determine if eventual updates to equipment rules are needed.

United States 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials
According to calculations by Runner's world magazine, 37.7 percent of the 565 finishers sported the Next% on race day and ll three men on the podium were sporting the Nike Alphafly Next%, however only Sally Kipyego represented the Next% on the women's podium.

Nike
Current iterations of Nike's high performance driven shoes remain the Vaporfly series. Though manufacturing and direct specifications remain under Nike discretion, it can be determined through use and dissection of the shoe illustrates their patented fly wire technology and clear one piece mesh upper. Regarding or the midsole, pebax, Nike's patented polymer known as zoom percent foam, which is utilized in aircraft manufacturing as well as a full length carbon fiber plate adding rigidity and responsiveness to runner.

A study conducted by writers of "Sports Medicine" concluded that the Next% shoes maintain "superior energy storage in the mid sole foam, the carbon-fiber plating allows for a lever action of the ankle joint, and the reduction of dorsiflexion and negative work at the metatarsal joint.

In the Journal of Sports Sciences, researches also conducted research on the Nike zoom Vaporfly 4% and it's capabilities of increasing performance in its athletes through oxygen uptake among 19 subjects in a cycle of three popular marathon racing flats, the Adidas Adios Boost, Nike Zoom Streak, and Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%. It was here where researchers concluded an reduction in oxygen uptake by 2.8% and 1.9% in the Adios Boost and Zoom Streak respectively. Additionally, the study concluded improved running economy based on positive changes stride length, plantar flexion velocity, and center of mass vertical oscillation in their subjects.