Explainer: The tech behind Tokyo Olympics' fast track

The Jamaican sprinter and her Olympic-record clip captured everyone's attention. What's nether foot, though, mightiness person been a origin erstwhile Elaine Thompson-Herah broke a 33-year-old Olympic grounds successful the women's 100 meters.

It's shaping up arsenic a accelerated way aboveground astatine Olympic Stadium. Runners are surely connected way to mounting personal, Olympic and perchance adjacent world-record times implicit the adjacent week astatine the Tokyo Games.

The brick-red way is made by Mondo, a institution that's been astir since 1948 and has been the supplier for 12 Olympic Games. This peculiar surface, according to the company, features "three-dimensional rubber granules specifically designed with a selected polymeric strategy that are integrated successful the apical furniture of MONDOTRACK WS that are added to the semi-vulcanized compound. The vulcanization process guarantees the molecular enslaved betwixt the granules and the surrounding matter, creating a compact layer."

Translation: It's speedy.

"Feels similar I'm walking connected clouds," U.S. 100-meter sprinter Ronnie Baker explained of the surface. "It's truly creaseless retired there. It's a beauteous track. One of the nicest I've tally on."

IS IT REALLY THAT FAST?

Maybe. Sometimes, it's conscionable accelerated runners successful tip-top signifier who marque it look fast. Only clip volition truly tell. The way besides has been baking successful the Tokyo prima with small use, making it other firm.

"Oh, it's fast," American 800-meter runner Clayton Murphy said. "Might instrumentality world records to win."

WHEN WAS THE TRACK INSTALLED?

The way went successful implicit 4 months, from August to November 2019. It hasn't seen overmuch enactment since the aboveground was enactment in. The athletes are breaking it successful with style.

"You conscionable consciousness it, man, you conscionable consciousness it," South African sprinter Akani Simbine said. "You cognize what accelerated tracks consciousness like. And for us, this way feels truly speedy and I americium looking guardant to moving speedy connected it."

WHY SO BOUNCY?

Mondo says connected its website that the main objective was to "maximize the velocity of athletes and amended their performance." The apical furniture is vulcanized rubber to assistance with elasticity. There are besides "air-filled cavities" successful the little layer, which assistance with "shock absorption, energy storage and contiguous kinetic response."

More to the point: It helps racers alert down the track.

"Some tracks sorb your question and your force," American 400-meter hurdler and world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin said. "This 1 regenerates it and gives it backmost to you. You tin decidedly consciousness it."

SO WHAT WORLD RECORDS MAY FALL?

Keep adjacent ticker connected the men's and women's 400 hurdles. McLaughlin acceptable the people (51.90 seconds) connected June 27 astatine the U.S. Olympic trials, breaking the grounds that had belonged to teammate Dalilah Muhammad. They volition beryllium the gold-medal favorites Wednesday—and whitethorn interruption the people again.

Karsten Warholm of Norway precocious broke the men's 400 hurdles people erstwhile helium went 46.70. He eclipsed a grounds that had stood since 1992. Can helium interruption it again?

"Maybe idiosyncratic other volition bash it," Warholm cracked. "I've done my job."

GOTTA BE THE SHOES, TOO?

The different origin successful these records could beryllium the technological advances successful the spikes. Nike's Vaporfly exemplary of footwear shook up the satellite of region moving a fewer years ago, with carbon-plated exertion credited for helping runners shave minutes disconnected their times. That benignant of exertion is moving its mode into the spikes for sprinters.

Thompson-Herah besides has a mentation connected accelerated times aft moving 10.61 seconds to interruption the Olympic people of the precocious Florence Griffith Joyner. "My training," she said. "Doesn't substance the way oregon the shoes."

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