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“World Record Day” certainly lived up to its name, as Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey set the fastest time ever for the women’s 5,000 meters after clocking 14 minutes and 6.62 seconds, while Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei he broke the men’s 10,000 meter record in 26 minutes and 11.02 seconds. .
Gidey, 22, broke Tirunesh Dibaba’s previous record set in 2008 by more than four seconds, while Cheptegei, 24, cut Kenenisa Bekele’s previous best time in 2005 by more than six seconds.
But the Valencia event was not without controversy.
The shoes have been approved by World Athletics and former athlete Jos Hermens, who represents both Gidey and Cheptegei, says the spikes are just a natural progression in shoe technology.
“Anyone can run with those spikes, so there is nothing special. Of course, the shoes develop, the tracks develop, everything develops all the time in any sport,” Hermens told CNN Sport in a phone interview.
“Go to Formula One, apparently Mercedes has a better engine than Red Bull and no one creates a problem with that,” Hermens added. “It’s everywhere. I don’t see the problem.”
World Athletics told CNN Sport that the shoes had been commercially available since April 2020 and that the measurements were in line with track shoes across the board.
New technology
Both Gidey and Cheptegei wore pacemakers and were also aided by Wavelight technology – flashing lights on the side of the track that give athletes an indication of the pace to run if they want to set a world record.
Hermens passionately believes that this new technological innovation will be a way to keep traditional fans interested in athletics, as well as attract new ones.
“The Wavelight is more for the public than it is for the athletes. In the old days, we were screaming as a coach on the side of the track. It’s the Stone Age,” said Hermens, whose NN Running Team organized the Valencia event.
“Now we are all digital and visual. Many fans of athletics are gone, young people do not understand athletics, so how wonderful is it to say that to break the world record, you have to be in front of the green, light?
“It’s not like we stand on the track, turn on the lights and break a world record. Athletes just have to run. We have to make our sport more interesting.”
Cheptegei had already broken Bekele’s 5,000-meter world record in August and Hermens says the Ugandan athlete was always on the way to setting more records having had more time to prepare without Tokyo 2020 to think after the Olympics were postponed due to to the pandemic.
“We are trying to write the story,” Cheptegei told reporters after Wednesday’s race. “We want people to know that the track is still exciting and we want to give it our all.”
“We live in a difficult situation [with Covid-19] but this event can still give us joy, it can still give us hope for tomorrow. “
‘Everything changes’
Only 400 people, including journalists and staff, were able to enter Valencia’s Turia stadium due to the pandemic, but those who watched the match were able to enjoy two notable races.
Hermens, who in 1976 set a world record for the longest distance covered in an hour, says the Valencia event will help bring the crowd back as it urged athletics to keep innovating.
“Everything changes. We talk on the cell phone, we go to a Zoom meeting. Everything changes all the time,” he said.
“When I broke the world record in 1976, every 200m I had a lamp. I knew that if I saw the lamp lit inside the track, then I was behind. If I didn’t see it burning, I knew I was on the program. That was in 1976.
“Do we have any lamps lit in the middle of the runway in 2020? It’s too ridiculous to even discuss.”
Nike did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
