Nike VaporFly Controversy
By AVA MCNEIL ‘22
Should shoes that give runners an “unfair advantage” be allowed during the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020? Should Eliud Kipchoge’s recent win in Vienna be solely credited to his wearing of the unreleased Nike VaporFly 4%? Both questions play into the black hole of a controversy that has grown to involve runners’ and critics’ opinions on the Nike VaporFly, a shoe that has helped athletes break major records across the globe.
According to CBS News, World Athletics (the sports governing body originally called IAAF) has declared that the thickness of a runners’ shoe must not exceed forty millimeters or 1.6 inches, while also being limited to having one carbon fiber plate. The addition of a carbon fiber plate to a running sneaker helps add a certain amount of forward fling—opposite reaction energy—back into each step taken. Galen Rupp, a Nike-sponsored runner, said, “I felt like I was running downhill” after he tried the Nike VaporFly for the first time. Nike VaporFlys stand at thirty-six millimeters tall with a singular full-length carbon fiber plate inside—both features that abide by the guidelines World Athletics or the IAAF set. Despite this adherence to the rule, ever since the shoe has been released in 2017, there have been disputes concerning whether or not the shoe should be allowed in competition. While some runners say that these new mechanics within the Nike VaporFly are helping to “advance the sport of running, others contend they confer an unfair advantage.”
Thinking about sports, people compare tradition and scientific innovation, highlighted when “polyurethane-based suits… were banned starting in 2010.” For example, not all elite runners agree that the VaporFly should be permitted in competition. Travis Hawkins, a former Ironman triathlete and New York City-based endurance coach, said: "Coming from the sport of triathlon where the barrier to entry is notoriously high, with race entry fees, pool memberships, wetsuits and the endless arms-race black hole of cycling equipment, I find that the egalitarian nature of running is sacred." Hawkins mentioned that he believes the $250 fee for the Nike shoe puts some racers at a disadvantage as athletes shouldn’t be penalized for not being able to afford fancier shoes.
Until approximately 2016/2017 when the Nike VaporFlys were released, running shoes were constructed from thins slabs of material—the general opinion was that you run more efficiently when carrying less weight on your feet. In 1960 Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian runner, managed to win the Olympic Marathon barefoot, a huge contrast to today; instead of looking for thin, more inexpensive shoes to run in, individuals look for thicker, overpriced shoes.
The Nike VaporFly sneaker has been cleared for play in the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but World Athletics still agrees sneakers shouldn’t provide runners with an unfair advantage. All in all, World Athletics should continue to look into sneakers and the impact they have on races and the sport overall. Sneakers clearly hold a lot more importance than just being things people put on their feet.