NIKE’S Usain Bolt-beating sprint shoes have been put on hold and will not be produced.
The controversial shoes are being branded as a Bolt-busting solution from Nike – but the American company have shelved the shoes with World Athletics approval unlikely.
Nike’s new running spikes have been shelved ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
The shoes are a different design to ones we have seen before on an athletics track
Rival companies are also coming up with footwear that has similar technology – with Adidas among the chasing pack.
What are the Nike Zoom Air Viperfly spikes and will they be allowed at the Tokyo Olympics?
Nike’s cutting-edge running spikes are designed specifically for 100m sprinters.
All sprinters wear footwear with small metal spikes on the bottom for better grip.
Over the last few decades, manufacturers have found ways to make the foot plate more rigid and lighter, which has been approved by athletics officials.
But the Nike shoes have a carbon fibre mechanism under the ball of the foot that acts like a springboard, generating more power in the sprinter’s stride.
Nike said: “This composition, developed alongside the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, was designed to provide responsiveness and energy.
“It follows deep study of the strategy and performance of the race, and focuses attention on what athletes need most in the last 20 meters of the sprint.”
Currently, we will NOT be seeing these spikes at the Tokyo Olympics, if it goes ahead in the summer of 2021.
Nike will not make these shoes available for athletes in Japan.
The shoes have to be approved by World Atheltics, which approve certain lines of footwear ahead of each world championships, with specific limits on sole thickness.
The black and green spikes are being described as the fastest of all time
What shoes did Usain Bolt run his 100m and 200m world records in?
Retired Jamaican track icon Bolt ran 9.58sec in the 100m in 2009 at the World Championships in Berlin.
He then went on and broke his own 200m world record, setting an all-time fastest of 19.19sec in the half lap sprint.
Bolt wore Puma spikes his whole career and was endorsed by the German company since his earliest days as a promising young teenager.
Usain Bolt broke the 100m and 200m world records in Berlin in 2009, which still stand todayCredit: AFP – Getty
Usain Bolt is rightly regarded as the greatest sprinter of all timeCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
