The marathon record set on Sunday (26) in London by Kenyan Sabastian Sawe — who became the first man to run 42.2 km under two hours in an official race — opens a new stage for the elite of world athletics.
According to former marathon runners and coaches interviewed by Sheet“super sneakers”, special — and expensive — shoes designed to improve performance on the tracks play a fundamental role in the evolution of the course completion time.
Sawe and second place, Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha —who held the half-marathon record and was competing in his first long-distance race—, as well as Ethiopian Tigst Assefa, winner in the women’s category, wore the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, from Adidas, which weighs just 97 grams.
The sneaker is not yet available on the Brazilian market and is sold abroad for around US$500 (R$2,500).
Launched on the market in mid-2017 with carbon plates in the midsole to increase stability and special cushioning foams, the “super sneakers” promise to reduce the running time of professional athletes by up to 4%.
“Breaking the world record is something I’ve dreamed of for a long time, and achieving it means a lot to me and the sport of running. It reflects the hard work done behind the scenes, the support of my team and the role of innovation in helping me push the limits,” Sawe said in a statement.
Despite the lightness of the treads, runners emphasize that they are not the only reason that helps explain the athletes’ speed gain.
Developments on the nutrition front and in sports training themselves are also highlighted by experts, who predict that new record breaks should not be long in coming.
Two-time New York Marathon champion and three-time São Silvestre champion, Marílson Gomes dos Santos stated that the time of 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds achieved by Sawe inaugurates a “new era” in athletics.
“It’s a new milestone in the history of marathons. It was something that, if we were to think about 10, 15 years ago, was practically impossible to do,” Marílson said to Sheet.
Retired from the track since 2016, the Brasilia native had his best time at the London Marathon in 2011, when he finished in fourth place with 2h06min34sec.
Marílson added that the sub-2h mark began to be seen as possible to be achieved after Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, two-time Olympic marathon champion, completed the route in 1h59min40s, in 2019.
The brand was not approved because it did not meet the requirements of an official race, but it opened the horizon for this possibility for top athletes, said the former Brazilian marathon runner.
“We already knew this was going to happen. We just didn’t know which marathon it would be,” said Marílson.
“This was thanks to developments in all areas of sport. Nutritional, sports training, technology with new sneakers. It was the combination of all of this that allowed us to reach this point”, he added.
Marílson’s former coach, Adauto Domingues stated that Sawe’s milestone should provoke additional motivation in other elite athletes, with the time most likely being gradually lowered over the next few years.
“The brands cause all this commotion and I think we are going to live in new times with all this technology. Athletes, when they see their opponents competing and making these marks, feel capable of doing them too. I think that very quickly we will have other athletes running under two hours”, stated Domingues.
The coach added that, for new brands to be established, it is essential that athletes seek training partners who are capable of raising their own level.
“Their training performance is very high,” said Domingues. “When you put a lot of good people together, in ideal conditions, with material, with appropriate technology, the results arrive”, added the coach.
Athletics coach at Sesi-SP, Elvis Santana stated that the record in London, a race that is not among the fastest on the circuit, was due precisely to the group that accompanied Sawe in the front group, forcing him to impose an increasingly stronger pace.
“The technical level of the race was very consistent, with a very united group. Although Sawe attracts more of the spotlight due to his record, something that also attracts a lot of attention is Kejelcha [segundo colocado]who made the best debut of all time in a marathon and also broke the world record that was in force until then”, said Santana.
‘Negative split’
Coach of Olympic medalist Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, Ricardo D’Angelo pointed out that Sawe applied a strategy known as “negative split”, in which the athlete manages to complete the second half of the race in a shorter time than the first.
The Kenyan completed the first 21.1 km in a time of 1h00min29sec, with the second half completed in 59min01sec.
“I imagine that the race conditions were also perfect, such as temperature, humidity, wind, as well as the shoes, an essential performance aid technology instrument for runners at this level,” said D’Angelo.
One of the first to achieve the “negative split” in elite races was Ronaldo da Costa from Minas Gerais, in the Berlin Marathon, in 1998, when he broke the world record that had already stood for ten years, with a time of 2h06min05sec — the first half was completed in 1h04min42sec.
“Human beings have no limits. They are always looking to overcome and establish new brands,” Costa told Sheet.
The former marathon runner said that, although it is natural for African runners to lead the race for the best times, he would not be surprised if new records come from runners from other countries, even Brazil.
He recalled that, when breaking the world record in Berlin, most people imagined that the person responsible for breaking the 1988 mark, set by Ethiopian Belayneh Dinsamo, would be an African runner.
“I was the athlete who defeated the African favorites. I proved that, when you are prepared, anything is possible.”
Ronaldo da Costa’s mark remained the best in the country until April 2022, when Daniel do Nascimento clocked 2h04min51sec, in Seoul.
“When I won in Berlin, it was a surprising milestone. Every athlete, every year, always seeks to improve. A record is meant to be broken,” said Costa. “In a while, in a few years, or in a little while [risos]another human being can overcome [a marca de Sawe]. It’s part of it,” he added.
Santana, from Sesi-SP, predicts that in the near future runners will be crossing the finish line in 1h58, a mark that Kelvin Kiptum was aiming for. “Within the next five years, I predict it will be possible to run in 1:55:50, but not much lower than that unless new technological resources come along.”
