Eliud Kipchoge says that Nike shoes not giving runners unfair advantage

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge has laughed off claims that Nike's talk-of-town racing shoe gives distance runners an added advantage.

Media reports on Wednesday speculated that the now famous Nike Zoom Vaporfly racing shoe could be banned for giving runners "undue advantage."

Kipchoge wore the shoe in Vienna last October when he became the first man to run the marathon in under two hours.

The Olympic champion clocked one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds to beat the iconic two-hour barrier at a race against the clock organised by British petrochemicals firm Ineos.

A day later, his compatriot Brigid Kosgei shattered Briton Paula Radcliffe's 16-year-old women's world record, running 2:14:04 at the Chicago Marathon.

"The contentious issue is the foam and carbon-fibre composition of the sole, which acts like a spring to help runners get the most forward push from each stride," British newspaper, 'The Daily Mail', reported on Wednesday.

"A technical body looking into the Nike shoes are set to deliver their findings at the end of this month," the newspaper added.

But speaking at his Global Sports Communication/NN Running team training camp in Kaptagat, Kipchoge said records are broken by individuals, not footwear.

"It's the person who is running, and not the shoes," said Kipchoge, who also holds the world marathon record at 2:01:39.

"It is (Lewis) Hamilton who does the driving and not Pirelli tyres," he added, drawing parallels with Formula One racing.

But the distance running legend said it was important to have checks and balances even as running technology evolves.

"Controls have to be there because fairness is good," Kipchoge said.

"But technology is growing and you can't deny that!"

posted Wednesday January 15th
by Elias Makori