The supershoes They are high -tech footwear that combine many small innovations, such as the materials that make up the sole, the typology of the hints or the best geometry. This combination is an engineered system with a precise purpose: Reduce the energy cost of the raceallowing athletes to maintain a higher speed longer. At the Paris Olympics, as well as at the Tokyo athletics World Championships, these racing shoes with showy shapes and colors were at the foot of the marathon runners and middle distance drivers. The situation closely recalls the disputes on the “supercostumi” that shocked swimming in 2009. Also in this case, technological innovation led to an improvement so clear of the performances to push the international federation to regulate its use, to ensure that the difference always face the athlete, and not only the shoe he wears.
What are the Supershoes or “Super Shoes”
The super shoes began to be talked about for the first time around 2019, when the Keniotes Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei managed to beat the male and female record of the marathon respectively, wearing these shoes. Over time, they have been used by many professional runners and beyond. They have also been progressively produced in more commercial segments and, therefore, which can be purchased by anyone. The new shoes are essentially the result of a series of improvements made to the entire conformation of the product. So let’s try to make an overview of the specific changes introduced.
As for the sole, a polyamide block elastomer has been inserted and a carbon fiber plate, the latter subjected to a specific curvature. Other innovations have been introduced into the shops and in the grocers which, specifically, have been designed using increasingly innovative and present materials as light and ultra-legging sponges.
Probably, the best known example of this new conception of shoe is that of the 4%Nike Vaporfly, the first footwear to present the combination of light foam and rigid plate that has allowed them, and to the subsequent models, to beat records and guarantee significantly better performance. It is necessary to specify that, by now, almost all the footwear brands have presented their own model of shoes on the market that combines the technologies just described.
As the performance of the runners help and when they use
In the years following the introduction of these innovations, the times recorded in the marathon by those who wore Supershoes improved up to 2% for men (translated into 2.8 min less on the final time) and 2.6% for women (4.3 min).
From the first tests in the laboratory, it emerged that the main reason for this evolution lies in the fact that the super shoes are able to reduce the energy cost of the 4% race compared to the normal footwear previously used. This energy saving is directly responsible for improving the racing speed, demonstrated by the new registered times. What has been said finds confirmation in the fact that the study and methodology of athletic training believe that a better racing economy is the determining factor for the increase in the performance of the runners.
Further and different tests have also proven that the new type of shoe manages to return 7.5 j of mechanical energy for each step, about twice the one returned by other footwear (3.5 j per step).
What does the Superscarpe regulation say
Inevitably, following the birth and the first uses of the new running shoes, the World Atlhetics (International Federation of Athletics) intervened by making some changes to the regulation. The aim was to guarantee fairness and, therefore, that no one could be disadvantaged or advantaged, especially in major international events such as the Paris 2024 Olympics or the next world championships of athletics 2025.
The measures dictated by the Federation are clear and precise. First of all, there is a periodically updated list of shoes approved by World Athletics and, clearly, all “new releases” must exceed a procedure for acceptance before competing use. It is also reiterated that no shoe during development can be worn without approval.
The main technical indications concern, without excessively enter the specific, the thickness and measure of the sole, but also the position of the forefoot and the heel compared to the same. The athletes, then, can be subjected to a footwear control at any time before, during or after a competition at the discretion of the organization.
