why would Nike give her a special shoe (and why would she wear one) designed to make her slower ... come on, people. Not saying it helped her a bunch but there are reasons why WA does not allow them. It is within NCAA rules though so fair game.
Seriously, do you think that shoe, versus a normal Vaporfly made her much faster in that race? Maybe? But enough to decide an outcome?
why would Nike give her a special shoe (and why would she wear one) designed to make her slower ... come on, people. Not saying it helped her a bunch but there are reasons why WA does not allow them. It is within NCAA rules though so fair game.
So what is the “spicy” shoe she is to wear on Saturday, except for their normal track spikes?
What was the point of putting the spikes in them? The track was bone dry and it's a 10K so no 'traction' advantage...
Unless they removed the Vaporfly internal plate, the extra weight of the spike plate may have more than negated any advantage from the extra traction. And if they actually did make a specially manufactured Vaporfly without the internal plate, as Salvatore Shatmo was claiming, then the shoe would have been as slow and mushy as that lousy Nikee invincible shoe.
I mean you are so right - what the f—k would I know.
For all the speculation re. Rupp over the years -- and the Olympic medals -- he always remained humble. Meanwhile, Parker - who still doesn't even have the Olympic standards in her events -- hasn't.
Yea, Rupp was never that bad. He was awkward and confident, but never that arrogant. Alberto was the one who was an arrogant prick. Valby is already coming across as very arrogant, and she is clearly Nike's new golden girl in distance running.
Something I noticed all the way back in 2022. She was coming back from injury, had been easily handled by Chelangat who was doubling off the 10000m at SECs, was handled without much trouble by Katelyn at regionals, but then seemed shocked that anyone could keep up with her at nationals. Just seemed odd.
BUT, these rankings are our historical markers of depth for our sport. Statisticians use them, they are used to create standards for countries, for World Athletics, for the Olympics etc. etc.. They are used by researchers to look at, for example, the effect of spikes and shoes on perforamnce - and now, it is just a complete mess, because NCAA (the premier collegiate / university league in the world) is doing their own thing - it's completely stupid. (and taking vapourflies and putting spikes into them is ridiculous).
Purpose: Determine the effects of advanced footwear technology (AFT) in track spikes and road-racing shoes on running economy (RE). Methods: Four racing shoes (3 AFT and 1 control) and 3 track spikes (2 AFT and 1 control) wer...
TLDR: "Despite their heavier mass, advanced footwear shoes resulted in similar running economy as superspikes."
In Valby's interview she said she wore them so she would not be so beat up for the 5000. Which makes sense. Too bad Geb didn't have the option in Atlanta 1996.
The shoes don't matter. She could have run a minute faster. That's why she was laughing and joking during the race. She just wants to get through NCAA champs with her two automatic championships healthy in advance of trials.
TLDR: "Despite their heavier mass, advanced footwear shoes resulted in similar running economy as superspikes."
In Valby's interview she said she wore them so she would not be so beat up for the 5000. Which makes sense. Too bad Geb didn't have the option in Atlanta 1996.
I suspected as much (see Post #60).
Rodrigo-Carranza et al., got somewhat similar findings in their research: (Preprint from April 16, 2024)
Influence of advanced footwear technology spikes on middle- and long-distance running performance measures in trained runners | bioRxiv
Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the influence of different spikes technologies on running economy and middle- and long-distance performance in trained runners. Methods Fourteen trained female and sixteen trained...
