The five fastest marathons of all time have been run in the past 16 months by athletes wearing varying forms of the technology. It is claimed Vaporflys improve an athlete's performance by 4%. In bringing in the new regulations, World Athletics did not ban the Vaporfly range, the predecessor to the Alphafly. 'We will continue our dialogue with World Athletics and the industry on new standards.'Īny new shoe technology developed after 30 April will now have to be available on the open market for four months before an athlete can use it in competition.

'We are pleased the Nike Zoom Vaporfly series and Nike Zoom Alphafly Next% remain legal,' said Nike in a statement. But to perform hard work in the shoe it’s really difficult.The prototype shoes worn by Eliud Kipchoge when the Kenyan became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours in October do not meet these restrictions.īut Nike said the retail version of the Zoom Alphafly Next%, set to go on sale this summer, will do. “For walking or normal life it’s OK, you can do it. “Anybody cannot use the shoes,” added Bekele, who said he would use the less high-spec Nike Next4%m shoes instead. The muscle needs to adjust to the movement under it. Because the shoe is not stable under the foot. “Several times I had some minor injuries, like a muscle stretch. “It’s really difficult to adapt to these shoes, especially with speed workouts,” said Bekele, who missed out on Kipchoge’s marathon world record of 2:01:39 by two seconds at the Berlin Marathon last year. However, the Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, who is also sponsored by the American shoe giant, admitted he would not be wearing the Alphaflys on Sunday because they had given him injuries in training.

It’s good for Nike to be far higher than other companies as far as technology is concerned.” Pressed on if it was unfair for athletes not sponsored by Nike, he said: “It’s good for Nike. When asked whether that was fair, Kipchoge was unequivocal.

The Alphaflys are the latest in a line of Nike shoes, which employ a carbon plate and a special foam, that have helped the company’s athletes to dominate the marathon for the past four years. The Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% has garnered a mixed reaction from some athletes, including Kenenisa Bekele Photograph: Nike

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