Vaporflys soon to be banned! (Read 368 times)

Things are moving along at the speed of bureaucracy.

VaporFly 4% and Next will not be banned, and no current technology or materials available to the public will be banned until after the Tokyo Olympics. After the Olympics, World Athletics will be updating the rules regarding shoe technology and materials. It is unlikely any shoe available to the public NOW will be banned in the future, but some shoes in development may not meet new regulations and requirements (ie; AlphaFly).

I couldn't find any info or rumors about the AlphaFly being allowed in the 2020 Olypics, but I suspect it won't because "currently available to the public".

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/28/controversial-nike-vaporflys-escape-ban

Also....shoes must be available for retail purchase for 4 months before being allowed in competition.

The "openly available to all" requirement could have been constructed more definitively.

• If a shoe is available for sale only in Japan, is it considered available to all?
• If a shoe is priced at $5K is it available to all?
• If a shoe is available only in men's sizes 8 and up, is it considered available to both sexes?
• Does 4 months mean 4 calendar months? Or 16 weeks?

Also....shoes must be available for retail purchase for 4 months before being allowed in competition.

 

 

The "openly available to all" requirement could have been constructed more definitively.

• If a shoe is available for sale only in Japan, is it considered available to all?
• If a shoe is priced at $5K is it available to all?
• If a shoe is available only in men's sizes 8 and up, is it considered available to both sexes?
• Does 4 months mean 4 calendar months? Or 16 weeks?

Good points. I think the fast Speedo swimsuit was banned from competition because it was deemed too expensive to be "available to all".

And don't forget about sponsored athletes; if they are sponsored by Fila (I knew some dick who was), they probably won't be allowed to wear VaporFly by their sponsors. So, that shoe is not literally "available to all". And like Olde Tyme Stock Car racing, maybe only X number of the shoes have to be manufactured and offered for sale to be considered "available to all" or "stock". What would that number be? 100? 500? 10,000 pairs?

All these fine points could be argued.

There is a claim that the AlphaFly is also going to be legal for competition this year. I understood the new shoe regulations to limit stack height to 40mm and to not include more than one plate (plus one to attach spikes to for track spikes). AlphaFly has 3 plates.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/06/sport/nike-alphafly-shoe-running-spt-intl/index.html

A reporter from Sports illustrated confirmed they were altered to make it only 1 plate. So they are alphafly, but not exactly what he wore in the 1:59.

Ah! Thanks. I had not seen that article yet.

The whole design with the airpods seems like it would be very hard to construct WITHOUT multiple plates. Maybe they connected them all at the toe so they could call them a "single" plate?

I have not seen any exact plans of the insides on the "legal version", but my guess is that they kept the middle plate and extended it to the back and the rest is foam and maybe only 1 pod high (or maybe two stacked), with two pods total left and right side. What I saw just nike confirming the pic you have has a single plate un like the original version.

 

Ah! Thanks. I had not seen that article yet.

The whole design with the airpods seems like it would be very hard to construct WITHOUT multiple plates. Maybe they connected them all at the toe so they could call them a "single" plate?

100%. I am hoping new balance does a plate version of their rebel or propel which is what I run in.

I won a pair of Rebels in the NB Mile challenge (actual prize was NB5280 but I'd never have much use for them so I asked for the Rebel). It's a great shoe from the fews runs I've taken in them. I believe they DO have a plate, but it's more for stabilization than propulsion/energy return.