After breaking the two-hour barrier for the
marathon, Nike is looking to expand boundaries again. The company introduced revolutionary spike
shoes designed specifically for the 100m, intending to help athletes get the most out
of their speed. However, the advanced technology inside the
shoes has sparked a debate inside the athletics community, whether it could create an unfair
advantage for Nike-sponsored athletes and threaten the sprint world records. The Viperfly spikes are equipped with innovative
carbon plates with adjustable flexibility and the explosive cushioning system Nike Zoom. The technology uses pressurized air and tightly
stretched fibers to cushion the impact before quickly springing back to their original state. It is believed that this innovation should
help athletes minimize deceleration in the last 20m of the race, which is currently being
a critical obstacle for Nike's leading sprinter Christian Coleman on the way to breaking Usain
Bolt's 100m World record. While Coleman totally dominates the first
half of every 100m race, he often struggles to hold on to his lead. His main problem in the past was speed maintenance
as he reached top speed too early and suffered a massive slowdown over the last 20 meters. Most notably, his biggest disappointment came
in 2017, when he reached his top velocity at 50 meters and then failed to relax, which
cost him the world title. Although Coleman has become a much better
athlete since then, patience and relaxation in the latter part of the race still remain
the main challenge for him. Late-race impatience to reach the finish line
triggers tension in his body. He is shrinking his head into his tense shoulders,
thus also locking his hips since they work jointly. As a result, his force production reduces
significantly, and the collapse at the knee caused by overstriding absorbs the energy
from the foot strike diminishing elastic rebound. Another distinct trait of Сoleman's running
style is the lateral arm movement. Lessening this side swing by an inch could
give him more downward force and immediate aerodynamic advantage. At maximum speed, a sprinter uses over 90%
of the energy to overcome the air resistance, and at the speed of 12 meters per second,
moving arms slightly closer to the body can considerably add to the final performance. Undoubtedly, the Nike Viperfly Spikes will
help Coleman get more productive energy return from each stride. Still, the spikes can't help make up for the
lack of relaxation and the deterioration of running mechanics. Christian Coleman has everything a sprinter
needs to break the world record. If he trusts his form and stays relaxed going
through every phase of the race without rushing his finishing spurt, he can definitely take
full advantage of these speediest spike shoes and speed to some really fast times.
