By: Phoebe Huang

In June, four high-school runners broke barriers in the race they attended. Three world records were shattered in this race within a week; Faith Kipyegon of Kenya set a new record in both the women’s 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters, and Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia set a new mark in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.

On Friday night, Kipyegon set another record, smashing the women’s one-mile record by nearly 5 seconds when she split the tape at 4 minutes 7.64 seconds. The performance stunned track fans who usually expected broken records just tenths of seconds faster.

But where did all these fast times come from? Wavelight, a pace-setting technology for runners surely did help, and so did the technology of running shoes. The thick springy kicks and midsole plates have revolutionized racing in recent years by giving higher rebound energy when a runner pushes off.

These Super Shoes came into the market in 2016 when Nike announced its thick-soled energy-returning shoes. The technology and design of these shoes provided more advantages than those worn at the Championships in previous years. This design was adopted by many others, and so advantageous to the point where Worlds Athletics, the governing body of track and field, began limiting the height of a shoe’s midsole in 2020.

But many sports scientists see something else: the payoff from several years of training in those specialized shoes. The longer the athletes train with them, the more they can take advantage of the technology.

“Because the shoes are a new tool, the more we run in them, the better we adapt,” said Geoff Burns, a physiologist and biomechanics expert with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

There’s a principle that all sports scientists believe in. For a runner to compete at their best, they must train in the same way they will race. That means running at the same pace, drinking the same fluids, consuming the same gels, and wearing the same shoes.

As technology advances, we can see its effects in both daily life and competitive sports. Technology is allowing humankind to take steps forward while also creating new opportunities for many.