More to the point: It helps racers fly down the track.
“Some tracks absorb your motion and your force,” American 400-meter hurdler and world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin said. “This one regenerates it and gives it back to you. You can definitely feel it.”
SO WHAT WORLD RECORDS MAY FALL?
Keep close watch on the men’s and women’s 400 hurdles. McLaughlin set the mark (51.90 seconds) on June 27 at the U.S. Olympic trials, breaking the record that had belonged to teammate Dalilah Muhammad. They will be the gold-medal favorites Wednesday — and may break the mark again.
Karsten Warholm of Norway recently broke the men’s 400 hurdles mark when he went 46.70. He eclipsed a record that had stood since 1992. Can he break it again?
“Maybe someone else will do it,” Warholm cracked. “I’ve done my job.”
The other factor in these records could be the technological advances in the spikes. Nike’s Vaporfly model of shoe shook up the world of distance running a few years ago, with carbon-plated technology credited for helping runners shave minutes off their times. That sort of technology is moving its way into the spikes for sprinters.
Thompson-Herah also has a theory on fast times after running 10.61 seconds to break the Olympic mark of the late Florence Griffith Joyner. “My training,” she said. “Doesn’t matter the track or the shoes.”
