PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Poles aren’t everything in pole vaulting.
Nowadays, the choice of shoes with claws is also a factor for Armand Duplantis – after inspiration from the Norwegian Olympic gold medalist Karsten Warholm.
– The shoes are designed so that he becomes faster, says Romain Girard, in the shoe brand’s development team.
He set the first world record in Torun, Poland in 2020. Since then, Armand Duplantis polished to his record highs at several competitions and at the Diamond League premiere in Xiamen, China, it was the eighth time he got to celebrate a record.
And it probably won’t be the last. During the first seven, a lot was about which staff he chose.
Mondo’s new weapon
Over the years, they have become stiffer and stiffer to be able to offer the heights that Duplantis is constantly up to.
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In Xiamen, the 24-year-old had another detail that gave him an extra boost. Shoes with claws. Something inspired by the Norwegian running star Karsten Warholms shoes, which he started using in 2022.
– The story of how “Mondo” started using these shoes is really special, says Romain Girardwho is part of the shoe brand’s development team, to TT.
– A few months ago, Karsten and his trainer Leif Olav Alnes explained the advantages of the shoes. “Mondo” became so enthusiastic about the development and asked us what we could do for him.
The shoe manufacturer immediately began the process of adapting Warholm’s shoes for pole vaulting, and in Xiamen Duplantis got the chance to test his own.
Taking after Norway
The result: 6.24 meters.
– The shoes make him faster, which results in higher jumps, says Girard.
– In pole vaulting, horizontal speed turns into vertical speed right after you put the pole in the pit. It gives you more opportunity to jump higher.
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Karsten Warholm and Leif Olov Alnes was obviously aware of Duplanti’s success in Xiamen.
– I have never seen “Mondo” set a world record so easily, says Warholm to NRK.
– His success may not have been solely due to the shoes, but they didn’t make him worse in any case and I don’t think he will change his shoes after this.
That is how it works
Duplantis and Warholm’s shoes are reminiscent of each other. The biggest, clear difference is that the Swedish-American has a thicker heel so that the pair is more adapted to jumping.
In long-distance running, the carbon fiber shoes have created debate and Alnes, who is behind Warholm’s shoes, believes this is just the beginning of a big development and says athletics will eventually become a material sport.
READ MORE: The icon’s unexpected criticism of Armand Duplantis after the Swedish superstar’s new world record: “It’s a problem”
And when it comes to the claws on the shoes, the successful experiment was initially about getting higher speed.
– They ensure that you have longer contact with the ground and where the energy stored in the shoes pushes you forward when your center of gravity is as far forward as possible. It corresponds to the most favorable possible time to create momentum.
Armand Duplantis has used the shoes in the first two competitions of the outdoor season, during the Diamond League tour in China.
Duplantis before the Olympics
May 28: Continental Tour in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
June 2: Diamond League in Stockholm.
June 10-12: EC in Rome, Italy.
July 7: Diamond League in Paris, France.
August 3-5: Olympics in Paris, France.
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