11. Tony Bignell

Nike’s VP of footwear innovation, creator of the world’s fastest trainer

The top-three marathon men at the 2016 Rio Olympics were all Nike Zoom Vaporfly guys. In 2017, Eliud Kipchoge ran two-and-a-half minutes faster than the men’s world record of 2:02:57 in the Vaporfly Elite, albeit unofficially. In 2018, he officially smashed the record by 78 seconds in the Vaporfly 4% – that figure being its scarcely believable improvement to the wearer’s running economy. And in 2019, Kipchoge finally (unofficially) broke two hours by 20 seconds in… What are those? Are they legal? Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year women’s marathon world record (Brigid Kosgei), the nine-year men’s 10K road world record (Joshua Cheptegei), and the men’s 5K road world record (Cheptegei again) were also smashed by Vaporfly runners. Some have demanded stiffer regulations, even a retrospective ban for “technical doping”. “On one hand, it’s a vote of confidence that people are talking about it because we feel like we’re making a difference and that’s what we’re trying to do,” says Bignell. “But on the other hand, it is a little bit limiting.” World Athletics’ tighter footwear restrictions in January ostensibly took aim at Kipchoge’s sub-two platform moon boots, with their alien forefoot foam pods. But the Alphafly Next%, launched to the rest of us in June, complies with the sole thickness limit of 40mm. It contains the one permitted carbon plate, not the rumoured three. It’s not “spring-loaded”. The confusion, Bignell says, is partly because Nike files countless patents for lots of prototypes. Other manufacturers boast similar technologies. But it’s Bignell and his team who, with “hundreds and hundreds” of tweaks and feedback from Kipchoge and co, have nailed the blend. Running shoes typically lose 30-40% of the wearer’s energy. If they returned more than 100%, that would be cheating to Bignell: “We’re just making them more efficient.”