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Now, Nike introduces 'Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%' days after Vaporfly dispute

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Feb 06, 2020, 01:34 PM IST
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Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% (TWITTER/ @nike) Photograph:(Twitter)

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Vaporfly was said to provide athletes with 4 per cent of running economy, whereas the new Alphafly will give around 7 to 8 per cent of running economy to the athletes.

Nike has come up with new "gamechanging" Air Zoom Alphafly Next% shoes that will fit into World Athletics-set rules. The introduction has come days after the ban on Nike's Vaporfly. 

Some variants of Nike's Vaporfly running shoes have been banned for elite competition and strict limits on the technology developed for any future shoes introduced after World Athletics announced significant changes to its rules last Friday. 

The new Air Zoom Alphafly Next% are said to be inspired by shoes worn by Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge during his unofficial marathon race in October. In that race, Eliud was two minutes quicker than his official World Record. 

According to Nike's twitter handle: "NEXT% technology enables athletes to shatter personal boundaries and break records. Nike's newest race-day shoe is designed to improve cushioning and running economy, the crosspoint between sports science and purposeful design."

The rival brands and athletes are upset with the new shoe that looks more like platform boot than traditional racing flat. They feel this is 'technical doping'. According to the sources who tried the Alphafly have said that the shoes are quick and confirmed that the new shoes are faster than the much-hyped Vaporfly. 

Vaporfly's dominance in the athletic world was for the world to see, out of 36 positions in six world marathon majors, 31 position holders donned the Nike shoe in the year 2019.

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei are one of the famous record-breaking marathon runners whose names surfaced when questions were raised regarding Vaporfly. These athletes wore the troubled Nike shoe during their record-breaking marathon. 

Vaporfly was said to provide athletes with 4 per cent of running economy, whereas the new Alphafly will give around 7 to 8 per cent of running economy to the athletes. The Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% has a sole thickness of 39.5mm, which makes it legal as 40mm limit was set by the Athletics governing body. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, Nike will also offer the shoe in limited quantities online by the end of the month, meaning it will also meet World Athletics’s requirement for new shoes to be available to the public by April to be eligible for the Tokyo Olympics starting in July.