Why The Olympics Banned Nike

Discover the Controversy Behind Nike’s “Super Shoes” at the Paris Olympics!

Eliud Kipchoge made history by running a marathon in under 2 hours, but it wasn’t just his legs doing the work—his Nike Vaporfly 4% shoes sparked a global debate on “tech doping” and “cheating.” As the Paris Olympics approach, these “super shoes” are under intense scrutiny for giving athletes an edge that some call unfair.

In this video, we dive into the rise of super shoes, their impact on running, and the ongoing controversy. From Usain Bolt’s criticisms to World Athletics’ rule changes, find out why these high-tech shoes are revolutionizing the sport and causing a stir.

Join us as we explore the evolution of running footwear, the mechanics behind these game-changing shoes, and what it all means for the future of Olympic competition. Are super shoes the key to breaking records, or are they bending the rules?

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 The 'Super Shoes' That Make You Faster?
01:23 The History of Running Footwear
03:17 The Technology
06:36 The Difference
07:48 The Problem
09:18 The Future

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Athletic Interest is a video essay series that investigates business stories from the world of sports.

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#olympics #nike #adidas #running

[AthleticInterest]

🥇What's your favorite track and field event at the Olympics?

[FinnyFinnFinn]

As an avowed shoe nerd, I’d like to correct the beginning of the video. Kipchoge broke two hours in the Alphafly, a then brand new prototype. By that point the Vaporfly had been around for years. We can moan about supershoes all we want, but that shift happened long ago - for better or worse it happened, and we’re living in that world. Maybe most importantly, unlike in the early days, every company now has a carbon racing shoe and there’s not much between them. If anything, Nike is being left behind by many of its competitors, with On and Adidas arguably developing better racing product nowadays. Most Nike athletes aren’t running in the newest Vaporfly models, and many of its marathoners are still running in the first alphafly - a now 4 year old shoe. I think you’re correct to point out that the shoes can hurt the sport - I’d say from 2016 to 2019 for sure Nike athletes benefitted hugely from their innovation. Look at the Rio marathon podium or the US Olympic trials 2016. Nobody even knew about the Vaporfly prototypes beside the Nike athletes and that seems grubby at best. And although the shoes get a lot of credit for these world records, one underreported factor is the huge advances in endurance sports nutrition that have been made in about the same timeframe.

When it comes to sprints, the benefits really aren’t very clear at all. The winning time in the Tokyo 100m would have been 5th in London 2012 for example. If shoe tech was that important in the sprints, I guarantee we would see a lot more 9.7 and 9.6 times. As it is, 9.8 which was good but not great 10-15 years ago is usually good enough to win diamond leagues, world championships and Olympic 100m races.

[vladutcornel]

Can we also have a competition where this is not banned?
Just to see how far this technology can go

[mbaron]

This video is closing in on 6 years late. The discourse about the super shoes peaked just before Tokyo, when super spikes were just hitting the market.

Also, I really hate the clickbait title. The IOC never banned any shoe. World Athletics provided guidelines. The IOC simply enforces the rules of the governing body for each event.

[sepg]

If shoes are tech doping, then make the sport barefoot.

[speedsociety]

the comparision with Formula 1 is overblown imo, if anything it is more like cycling where a great aerodynamic bike can give great benefits to riders as they have to expend less energy for the same speeds but ultimately the human is still the engine.

[steeven]

this has got to be one of the greatest ads for Nike

[ob]

I'm sorry but this could have used much more research.

1) World Athletics never banned any Nike shoes during this period. The rule changes covered exisiting products.

2) Super spikes are nothing new. Puma had their 'brush spike' banned back in 1968 after it broke WRs in testing. Nike even shelved a spike with metal sandpaper instead of spikes back in 1985.

3) Carbon-fibre plate running shoes are not new. Fila did this with racing shoes back in 1996. They dominated world marathons for years and only stopped when the company collapsed.

4) The Viperfly may have had the potential to improve times (it was never proven) but almost all the tech except the decoupled spike plate (which the patent said would act as a second plate) made it into production spikes

5) Even with the super spikes of today, Usain Bolt's record has not been approached.

[kahhengyeong]

Usain Bolt after wearing the shoes : Insane Bolt

[lavatr]

I once won in college race, and I was surprised....
The only reason was best fitting comfortable shoe,
It wasn't even This track shoe, but it's was comfortable

[bengleiss]

He didnt run a two hour marathon. he ran a marathon distance in less than two hours. There are certain rules he didnt meet to be classed as a marathon

[polski]

No better advertising then banning ashoe for being too good

[imacg]

This happened in early 2000s in swimming. They banned "sharkskin" swimsuits, and all world records created wearing those swimsuits have been marked.
Technology doesn't have to rule the tracks, on land or in water.

[Lektorskirap]

2:06 Yeezy as an example of running shoe 😆

[AbrahamSantiago-zosl]

I accumulated a total of 89 thousand today. I am truly grateful for all the knowledge and information you have given me over the past few weeks. I started with 5 thousand 2 months ago .God bless you Deborah

[Arcw]

IOC should just make a standard shoe layout which needs to be used at Olympics and can be produced by every sponsor. Much better than ruling that can be checked for loop holes.

[subject]

It’s funny how the video is 9:57 or 0.1 seconds better the 100m world record 9.58 while talking about how cheating could have beaten it with super shoes

[widejeff]

“Without the athletes, super shoes would just be very expensive slippers”
Quote of the day 🔥

[menzimabuza]

Sooo..I am not slow..I just dont have the right shoe😂😂

[El_FzEq]

I always find it weird that sport equipment in competitions are not standardised.