As the ruling on whether or not Nike Vaporflys are legal is about to be announced (the commission established by World Athletics is expected to rule at the end of the month) the records set by athletes with those shoes on their feet continue to be counted.
The last case is not about a world record but about the course. It happened to Ethiopian Derara Hurisa in India’s Tata Mumbai Marathon, who won in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 9 seconds. A remarkable achievement but nowhere near the world record. Yet what attracted attention were some details that make this Ethiopian’s story and the result achieved even more interesting. Hurisa in fact had never run a marathon before that day. Which is not to say that I had never raced, mind you: this is still an excellent athlete but cross country (the cross-country). As chance would have it, however, his shoes did not reach him in time, lost with the luggage at the airport. However, Hurisa managed to borrow a pair from an elite colleague: a pair of Vaporfly. Shoes with which, it is worth noting, he had never raced.
This victory explains nothing, either for or against these controversial Nikes: the news is just that an athlete who had never worn them and had never run a marathon won one, and in a remarkable time.
The bottom line.
At this point, however, it is appropriate to update the list of records broken by the Vaporfly from their introduction to date (and until they ban them or force Nike to heavily modify them):
- In October 2018, Kipchoge set a new world record in Berlin: 2h01’39″”
- Brigid Kosgei beats in Chicago in 2019 Paula Radcliffe’s record that stood for a full 15 years by 81 seconds, stopping the clock at 2h14’4″
- Kipchoge (the usual Kipchoge) sets the marathon distance speed record in Vienna, completing the distance in less than two hours for the first in history
- Last December, Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei in Valencia broke the 10k world record by 6 seconds. He had been resisting for 10 years. The top 5 finishers at this event all wore the Vaporfly 4%
- Japan’s Mariko Yugeta becomes the first woman over60 to break the 3-hour marathon record, setting a time of 2h59’15”, more than 3 minutes better than the previous
- 95 of the top 100 finishers in last year’s Valencia Marathon wore Vaporfly.
These are the data and results. It is easy to predict the thoughts of other elite athletes who are at the starting line but not wearing those shoes, “Am I at a disadvantage compared to the wearer?” Perhaps it really is time for clarity.
(Via CBS Sports)