World Athletics president Sebastian Coe recently dismissed concerns over the advantage of the infamous Nike ZoomX Dragonfly track spikes. The record breaking footwear has been responsible for Joshua Cheptegei and Letesenbet Gidey smashing the 10,000m and 5,000m world records towards the end of last season.
Coe mentioned that it was a good thing for shoe manufacturers to try to outdo each other. "Things come in cycles" he said. “I remember a period in the mid-2000s where Adidas were the kings of the podium, particularly in distance”
World Athletics introduced new rules last year limiting the thickness of the sole and the number of plates used in track spikes. Lord Coe said he was “pretty calm” about the game-changing spikes and did not want to “stifle innovation” despite Cheptegeis and Gideys recent records.
Furthermore Mo Farah and Sifan Hassan broke the 1 hour records wearing the shoes last September proving that the race is on for the other manufactures to catch Nike.
