Thursday notebook: Team Kenya outfit is popular in Tokyo : The standard Sports
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Abel Kipsang sets new Olympic record in 1,500m semis : The standard Sports
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Elaine Thompson-Herah produced the second-fastest women’s 100m (10.61sec) and 200m (21.53sec) in history
Credit: Reuters
What is the technology behind the track?
According to Mondo, the Italian company who have designed this new Tokyo track, it is the fastest in history and could provide a one to two per cent performance advantage.
Mondo have designed 12 Olympic tracks in their time and they say more than half of all track world records set in the last 20 years have been set on their tracks.
This one came about after testing multiple versions and materials before settling on the finished product.
There are two main factors that make this track so fast. The top layer of the track incorporates rubberised granules, while the lower layer has small pockets of air, both of which combine to ensure athletes are provided an element of shock absorption, while also giving them greater energy return. The designers refer to this as a “trampoline effect”.