Karsten Warholm’s incredible gold medal performance in the men’s 400m hurdles was hailed as the greatest race of all time but it’s resulted in plenty of questions being asked about what’s going on in Tokyo and athletics in general.
Warholm became the first person to run sub-46 seconds in the event as he obliterated his previous world record. But is there more than meets the eye to the latest in a string of record-breaking times we’ve seen this year?
For many, the answer is an obvious yes. So how are runners going so fast, breaking barriers previously thought unbreakable? Well, apart from the obvious – freakish athletic talent – lie two major factors: Their shoes and the track.
‘Super shoes’ back in the spotlight
After Warholm’s jaw-dropping win English sports writer Matt Lawton tweeted: “Warholm is an amazing athlete but I think we’ve just seen the impact of…
