Record-setting super shoes are here to stay, say experts

In some sports it might be appropriate to have TWO WRs one before & one after the rather LARGE tech innovations, especially in the longer distances where cumulative time cutting will be most obvious

I really don't like this kind of "technology doping." The swimsuits about a decade ago got completely out of hand. I think at the Sydney Olympics world records in swimming were being broken 4 or 5 times a day. I'm glad the authorities stepped in and tightened the regulations. I read an article the other day about the singlets the Japanese wrestlers will be wearing and how they are made of a material that is harder for opponents to grip. Is that really fair? Also, the price of the technology creates a gap between the athletes and countries that can afford the gear and those that cannot. Of all the sports I have played, doing shot put gave me the most satisfaction because of its honesty - the weight of the shot never changes, the length of a centimeter never changes, no special equipment to help. It was all of me.

The more innovation the better. There are always going to be advantages or disadvantages to different types of clothing or gear. Innovation gives athetes options so they can choose what works best for them. Do you really think basketball players should go back to wearing old school converse? Innovation has created basketball shoes that provide better performance and safety for the players.

Former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson said he could have run a 9.3 in 1988 with today's technology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLBjHkcqp8o

I'm sure he could've......especially with his "special" training techniques

Athletics. Corporate. Financial awards for top athletes. Shoe sales for manufacturers.

The ethics of gear - which is ridiculous. Why should anyone care - exactly, they shouldn't. It is a rarefied arena, where only the elite perform, a spectacle which is entertainment with elements of sport.

It is not a neighborhood game. It is a business. A very expansive and profitable business, to ignore that reality is near impossible.

It produces a panoply of celebrity - which is morphed into a marketing tool. All laden with statistics and data from batting averages to increasingly faster times in track and variants within almost any athletic contest worth the coin of the realm.

If no one profited from the Olympics, it wouldn't be a staged event beamed across the planet. And super shoes would be for children.