Should athletes be allowed to use performance-enhancing gear?
Some athletic purists have argued that souped-up apparel and athletic equipment constitute “technological doping.” Do you think the shoes worn by the London Marathon winner and others offer an unlevel playing field, or should athletes be able to wear whatever they like?
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I'm a barefoot runner, so I say they should run barefoot--preferably on dirt, sand and/or grassy surfaces. Asphalt is for cars.
Swimmers should be naked too (no flippers allowed means they're barefoot, too.)
Look at the ancient Greeks: the Olympics were nude events. And as for the marathon's origins, you will note that Pheidippides is depicted as running barefoot to report victory at the battle of Marathon.
Science cannot have deliberate stumbling blocks! we have to accept technological progress, or else we would have to build, ADDIDAS developed tracks and ask the athletes to run barefoot ;-))
Banning good shoes is silly. Should we require pole vaults to be bamboo? Golf clubs to be wood? Go fly fishing with willow branches?
If it does not include batteries or any power assistance other than human energy it should be legal.
In general, banning new technology is a losing game. Where are you going to draw the line? Require shoes above a certain weight? Allow barefoot running only? The only enforceable limit I can think of is to set a maximum thickness for soles. That might not be necessary because too thick a sole might slow you down.
Have two categories -- one for the tech, one for the "natural".
I ran a 2:31 marathon in 1983 without any special diet, wearing flat shoes that weighed about 450 g each. I don’t know how fast today’s athletes would have been back then, but shoe technology has certainly been a game changer. It makes runners faster, but arguably also more prone to injury. Personally, I think running should remain as natural as possible. It’s not just about records. Running is meditation, therapy, improved cognitive function — the list goes on. To me, some of these records have a certain flavor, and not a pleasant one.
