Incredible Karsten declares War on ‘super spikes’ in wake of his record
KARSTEN WARHOLM smashed his own world record to storm to a remarkable 400metres hurdles gold, and then criticised Nike’s super spikes, suggesting they damage the credibility of his sport.
The double world champion won his first Olympic title in a lightning-fast 45.94 seconds, ahead of American Rai Benjamin (46.17sec) and Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos (46.72). Astonishingly, Warholm took almost a second off his previous world best of 46.70, set at the start of July, when he had beaten Kevin Young’s longstanding mark of 46.78, which the American had set nearly 30 years ago.
Norwegian Warholm, who is working with Puma and the Mercedes Formula One team on his own footwear, took aim at
Benjamin’s shoes, saying it was wrong that Nike athletes can run with a section of responsive foam in sprint spikes.
The 25-year-old said: ‘He had those things in his shoes, which I hate. I don’t see why you should put anything beneath a sprinting shoe. In middle distance, I can understand it because of the cushioning. If you want cushioning, you can put a mattress there. But if you put a trampoline, I think it’s b******* and I think it takes credibility away from our sport.’
The times in this race will intensify the debate around ‘super shoes’, which have seen Nike and other manufacturers pack more technology into their footwear, leading to a glut of record times in recent years. On his own spikes, Warholm stressed: ‘What I can say about the shoes I have been developing is I’ve been trying to make it as credible as we can.
‘We have the carbon plate but have been trying to make it as thin as possible. Technology will always be there but I want to keep it to a level where we can compare results.’
The surface in Tokyo is being hailed as one of the fastest ever and Benjamin said it was a ‘phenomenal track’. But he hit back at claims about his spikes, saying: ‘I could wear different shoes and still run fast. If you would have told me I was going to run 46.1 and lose, I’d probably beat you up and tell you to get out of my room.’