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As Joshua Cheptegei approached a staggering 10,000m men’s world record (26:11) on Wednesday, there was an unmistakable lime green stain that painted Uganda’s path to greatness.
The 24-year-old snatched the banner at the Valencia match to complement his equally astonishing feat of 5,000 meters months earlier (12:35). A colossal night for athletics was completed after the Ethiopian and her Nike teammate Letesenbet Gidey claimed supremacy in the women’s 5,000m (14:06).
It confirmed a new dawn for the sport, which has been forced to adapt like no other in 2020 in the era of Covid-19, bruised by the postponement of the Olympics and deprived of a major championship. Yet athletes have refused to let their training go to waste, with glorified time trials and technology providing public intrigue to temporarily replace the fierce competition and lure of medals.
NN’s gripping ‘World Records Day’ spectacle had many eyes set on Cheptegei’s feet, taking six seconds off Kenenisa Bekele’s previous record, which had been held for 15 years. The lime green swoosh is the signature of the new ZoomX Dragonfly spikes, which Nike hopes will revolutionize the track in the same way that Alphafly has done with Eliud Kipchoge on the road in the marathon. They contain a carbon plate and revolutionary foam, and the sportswear giant boasts of being the “fastest running shoes ever.”
Cheptegei also followed a series of flashing lights around the perimeter of the infield known as Wavelight technology. While this is undoubtedly informative for viewers at home, it is also clearly an advantage for today’s athletes when looking to set the desired pace.
The ghost of Bekele’s endeavor in 2005, in the form of green neon lights, failed to escape Cheptegei’s metronome beat, but now, with Tokyo on the horizon, a debate persists about technology and justice.
“The main thing for me is that I’m happy with what I’m wearing,” explains Jake Wightman, a New Balance athlete who ran Britain’s second-fastest 1,500m of all time in Monaco two months ago. “I never feel at a disadvantage because the shoes I wear are as good as I could ask for.
“I think a spike is a spike, you’ll get minimal benefits from that. The hard work is done without the shoes you are wearing, in training or in the gym.
“So if you go in with the mindset that it’s unfair, you’re already putting yourself at a disadvantage. I think it’s different on the roads, but I don’t think it has such a big impact on my events.
“I think it’s bad now that when athletes go out and do something great, people point to the shoes. Why can’t you celebrate physical achievement?
“Even if Cheptegei got a small lead, he still ran 26 under, still ridiculously fast. We’ll never know what people can do without them now, so they can’t be compared. But I don’t see any problem with that. It’s fair up to a point, they’re just peaks. “
Many may assume that the performance of Wednesday’s statement will prove disappointing for Sir Mo Farah, also sponsored by Nike, and his sensational return to the track next year. But with Farah’s 10,000-meter BP noticeably slower than Cheptegei’s at 26:46, can he compete at 37?
Wightman, who has ambitions to double in Tokyo, as Farah has done before, after also setting a PB in the 800 meters last month (1: 44.18), believes the occasion and the presence of the four-time Olympic champion could disrupt the the new World. record holder.
“Mo won his championships against guys who weren’t the same caliber as Cheptegei,” admits Wightman. “But every time we see Mo, he is always ready to win a race.
“I feel like every time he steps onto the starting line he will be in good shape and Cheptegei will, I suppose, feel Mo’s presence. No one can doubt his pedigree. It is not known how good he will be on the track.
“It will be interesing. What better test for Mo? If he comes back and doesn’t beat Cheptegei, then he knows he came out at the right time. But if he wins, better yet, he’s probably the greatest distance runner of all time. Either way, I don’t see any downside now and would love to see it. “
