Sneaker controversy explodes after “best run in Olympic history”

Karsten Warholm’s gold medal did not quell his anger.

The 25-year-old men’s 400m hurdles champion expressed frustration that his rival, silver medalist Rai Benjamin, “has these things in his shoes, which I hate”, allowing him to run “at the antenna ”.

“Those Things” is an innovative thick slab of Pebax foam in sprint spikes, dubbed the “super spike” running shoe found in Nike’s Air Zoom Victory and Dragonfly models.

Mo Farah, Letesenbet Giday, Joshua Cheptegei and Sifan Hassan broke records last fall wearing Nike Air Zoom Dragonfly on their runs.

“I don’t see why you should put anything under a sprint shoe,” Warholm said. “In the middle distance, I can understand it thanks to the cushioning. If you want padding, you can put a mattress in it. But if you put on a trampoline, I think it’s bulls, and I think that takes away the credibility of our sport. “

In what many call the best race ever, Warholm (Norway) and Benjamin (United States) broke the world record, which lasted 29 years before Warholm broke it last month in Oslo.

Benjamin himself said it was the “best race in Olympic history”.

Warholm – who ran a 45.94 Monday before uttering a celebratory cry, tearing his uniform in half and falling to his knees in amazement – is working with Puma and the Mercedes F1 team to create his own spikes, which feature a superior carbon plate in the core and weighs just 135 grams. But these are not the same as the “super peak,” according to Warholm.

“Yes, we have the carbon plate,” Warholm said. “But we tried to make it as thin as possible. Because that’s how I would like to do it. Of course, the technology will always be there. But I also want to keep it at a level where we can compare results because it’s important.

“I have always said that there is no such thing as a perfect race. But I think it’s the closest to a perfect race.

Benjamin gave credit to the track – not his shoes – when he discussed his second place finish.

“It’s a very good track. It’s soft, it gives a lot, ”he said. “It’s a phenomenal track. People say it’s the track, the shoes and the conditions were really good.

“But I could wear different shoes and still run fast. No one will do what we just did, I don’t care who you are. It could be Kevin Young, Edwin Moses, respect these guys, but they can’t do what we just did. It’s a very fast track, it felt good, the conditions were really good.