Two world records were broken in an astonishing hour in Spain on Wednesday as Nike’s controversial track spikes proved once again a game changer for athletics
The Valencia meeting had been called a ‘World Record Day’ by organizers and it quickly unfolded when 22-year-old Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey broke the women’s 5,000m record held by Tirunesh Dibaba by more than four seconds in 14 minutes of running 662sec
Soon after, 24-year-old Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei added the men’s 10,000m world record to his 5,000m record set earlier this summer with a stunning display of controlled running Her time of 26min 11sec beat the best precedent, held since 2005 by Kenenisa Bekele, by barely six seconds
The two records will spark controversy and fear as Gidey and Cheptegei wore Nike ZoomX Dragonfly spikes containing a unique carbon plate and foam and were touted as the « fastest shoes of all time »
While many athletics are uncomfortable with pointe shoes – and especially the advantage they seem to give over rivals wearing other brands – they have been endorsed by World Athletics
Athletes were also aided by Wavelight technology which uses flashing lights to show the pace needed to break records
Last month Mo Farah and Hasan Sifan broke the one-hour records for men and women, also using super-fast Nike shoes and Wavelight technology
Cheptegei, who is set to meet Farah at the Tokyo Olympics over 10,000m next summer, was asked whether a second world record in two months meant he had achieved greatness. is that the foundation of what I want to achieve in the years to come « , he replied
Gidey, who ran at the same time as Emil Zatopek in setting an Olympic record at the 1952 Games, was equally effusive “I dreamed of this record for six years, I want to thank Valencia for giving me this chance « , she declared » It’s very good for Ethiopia Before it was Tirunesh Dibaba and now it’s me «
Joshua Cheptegei, 10,000 meters, World record, Letesenbet Gidey, 5,000 meters, Athletics, Uganda, Kenenisa Bekele
World news – GB – Cheptegei and Gidey break records world track using controversial picks
