Athletics-Seeing’s not believing as shoe tech rips up the record books
By Mitch Phillips
LONDON (Reuters) – When World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe began his review of the year by highlighting “some jaw-dropping performances” he perfectly encapsulated the sport’s current paradox – people are stunned by what they are seeing, but not necessarily impressed.
For decades, huge world records were often greeted New Jordan with a weary assumption of doping but many of today’s even bigger leaps are the result of “performance-enhancing technology”.
The dropping of the jaw is all-too often accompanied by the shaking of the head as a succession of astounding performances on track and road have left fans utterly discombobulated.
Illustrating the issue perfectly was the men’s Olympic 400 metre hurdles final in Tokyo this year, widely acclaimed as one of the g...