- Nigerian clocks 12.12 to beat Kendra Harrison’s record by 0.08
- Did so wearing longer-distance shoes instead of track spikes
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan reignited the debate about track and field’s new super shoes as she unexpectedly shattered the 100m hurdles world record in Eugene.
On a night when Mondo Duplantis also broke his own pole vault world record, Amusan ran a staggering 12.12 sec to beat Kendra Harrison’s old best by 0.08 – and, for good measure, also smashed her personal best in the process by nearly three-tenths of a second.
Immediately after the race the former world 200m and 400m record holder, Michael Johnson, wondered whether the timing system at Hayward Field was off. He was far from alone. However it transpired that Amusan had been given a boost by using Adidas Adizero Avanti shoes, which are meant for 5km and 10km runners, rather than track spikes.
After running even faster to win gold nearly two hours later, Amusan revealed she had accidentally stumbled on the idea of using the shoes, which have extra bouncy foam, after injuring her foot.
Adidas bill the Adizero Avanti as “like hitting fast-forward” and promise the shoes “provide a snappy, propulsive ride with high traction and reduce fatigue, so you finish 5K and 10K races with a kick”.
There is nothing illegal about the shoes, with current World Athletics rules dictating that sprint spikes cannot have soles thicker than 20mm – the same as the Adizero Avanti.
