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Credit: Feldspar
The 100 metres in under nine seconds?
It was a frontier in human evolution that was regularly debated between 2008 and 2016 when Usain Bolt was redefining a sport. One scientific study pinpointed the year 2068. Another, undertaken for World Athletics, concluded that 9.27sec represented the limit of mankind’s performance.
No one has gone close to Bolt’s 9.58s mark in the intervening years but, at a laboratory just off the A428 near Cambridge, there is a belief that the supposed impossible has suddenly become very possible.
“There is the potential for early nine seconds if not sub nine seconds for a human,” says Alvina Chen, a Hong Kong-born sprinter turned entrepreneur who, after almost three years working with a British-based team of experts across physics, maths, electrical and mechanical engineering, chemistry and manufacturing, has overseen the world’s first digital ‘smart’ track.
Not only can its sensors provide a raft of real-time data that would be transformative to athletes, coaches, fans and media, but early testing has pointed to an energy return that is some 20 per cent greater than existing tracks.
“We see how running shoes have evolved a lot, training methods and nutrition… but one thing that hasn’t changed pretty much is the track surface – that hasn’t changed for like 60 years, from the 1968 Olympics,” says Chen, who is the founder and chief executive of Feldspar.
“We believe we are creating the first major advancement. With our track, we anticipate that it will be 20 per cent faster than the Paris Olympic track, depending on athlete ability and external conditions. Our vision is to have the track become the universal standard all over the world. We have the world’s fastest running surface.”
Darren Campbell, who is the head of sprints and relays at British Athletics, joined Feldspar last year and, after monitoring young sprinters on the track, believes that the benefits can be huge. Campbell’s eyes also light up at the thought of what it could mean more widely for athletics; a sport with such rich global history but often still stuck in its amateur roots. Instant AI-powered data that could be downloaded straight on to the cloud for all to see include speed, stride length, foot placement, acceleration rate, horizontal, vertical and lateral forces as well as flight time.
“You can run away from technology … and kind of stay in the dark ages, or you can embrace change,” he says. “We are going into an era when technology is at the forefront of every sport. When you start trying to immerse people into athletics, you are going to have to educate them and bring them on the journey.
“I’ve always watched Formula 1 but now I can see how it is easier for someone to get into because there is so much data. One of the only sports where I’d go, ‘Where is the technology?’ would be athletics. When did we last have some form of technology that isn’t a shoe? This is the innovation I feel that athletics has been waiting for. All of a sudden nine seconds doesn’t seem crazy.”
What are described as “positive talks” have already been held with World Athletics about potentially ratifying Feldspar’s “super track”.
Credit: Feldspar
On the day of Telegraph Sport’s visit to the Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP), the track was being trialled by Uzoh Herbert and Callia Downey, two leading young British athletes. The sprinters Teddy Wilson and Renne Regis have also been working with Cambridge scientists and inventors over recent years.
“The difference is scary – it’s revolutionary,” says Herbert. “I’ve done up to 50 runs today and I am able to keep going. It’s so soft and reactive – you get an instant push forward.” Downey nods. “You keep your form and flow more, losing less energy,” she says.
There is also an invite for Telegraph Sport to try out the track. Laid adjacent is a strip of the surface that has been the evolving standard in athletics since the late 1960s and the difference is striking. There is noticeably less impact through the body and more effortless forward bounce. It instantly reminds me of the contrast between standard running trainers and the carbon-reinforced “super shoes” which have come to revolutionise distance running and are often described as like running on clouds.
Our Chief Sports Reporter gets to grips with the track and feels an instant difference - David Rose for the Telegraph
So how is the track so fast? The vision began with Chen who, after having her own sprinting career cut short by the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis, began pitching to various design engineer companies. She was turned down by more than 10 – “they said it was too hard and can’t be done” – before the Cambridge scientists accepted the challenge. They have since produced and tested 50 different iterations of the track. “Everything science and engineering has to offer has been thrown into it,” says Karlheinz Lamprecht, CPD’s senior engineer. “We have a 20 per cent gain in energy return in a world where two to four per cent makes a big difference. If you would drop an item on our track, it would not come straight back up, it would actually move forward. It converts downward force into a forward movement.”
Athletics tracks have evolved from cinder to the largely rubber structure we see now and, while there is some hesitancy to list every material that has been used, Lamprecht provides an outline. The top surface is “rubber and composite”, employing what he calls a “natural material that is used in shooting ranges to catch bullets” and mining to protect metal containers. There is then the all-important angled cantilever system, which actively helps to translate downward energy into forward momentum. In here, there is a mixture of fibreglass, epoxy and somerset resin, as well as recycled printed circuit boards to which you can add sensors. Various metals, acrylics and fibres were trialled in all different shapes in an attempt to develop a structure that best returned energy to the athlete. Prototypes without the angled cantilever system have also been produced.
It is stressed that no ‘new’ energy is being artificially created and, according to their tests, the structure will return 90 per cent of what a runner has naturally produced compared to around 70 per cent today.
Credit: Feldspar
“It is the law of thermodynamics,” says Lamprecht. “Energy is not created. There is no energy going in by a cable. It’s all the energy that the athletes put in.”
And is it fair? “It’s the same conditions for everyone,” says Lamprecht. “With the existing track, each Olympic Games, they are evolving. Energy improvements are in the range of one to two per cent. The Paris track is in the range of one to two per cent better than the one in Tokyo. How is it fair to compare the times of Paris to Tokyo?”
Chen adds: “Not everyone can afford carbon-plated shoes. With the flooring, everyone can run on it and it is a level playing field.”
Another key characteristic is that the track is modular, meaning that it comes in pieces that can be transported and laid just about anywhere, from on top of an existing track to in the street or even across a frozen lake.
It all means that, while talks continue with World Athletics about required specifications, there would be nothing to stop unofficial ‘special category’ world record attempts in a similar vein to Eliud Kipchoge’s first sub two-hour marathon.
It would certainly generate huge interest, with thoughts already extending to the fascinating data and precision that could also be employed across field and endurance events, as well as other sports.
Campbell, who was an Olympic, European and Commonwealth champion, does not think that a potential rewriting of the athletics record books is a reason to resist progress. “To a degree you are remembered by your records but, in our sport, I think you are more remembered and respected by the medals you achieve,” he says.
After developing what is currently a 20-metre prototype, Campbell would now also love access to a full 100m straight of the “super track” on which British athletes could train and be tested.
Leading athletes have long been assessed on stationary force-plates – which each cost around £50,000 – and they can now also use speed camera and video technology to collect biomechanical data. But there are holes in the information, notably around the forces that are being generated into the ground, as well as the delay in feedback.
Discussions between Campbell and fellow coaches have left them hugely excited about the possibilities, particularly around the early identification of injury risks that would likely show up in subtle changes to an athlete’s usual pattern of running. “We will get a fingerprint of how each athlete works,” he says.
Credit: Feldspar
At a time when the sport is trying to put on more events – and routinely stretching the season – the advantages of a surface that appears less impactful on the body are also obvious.
“We have had those guys on there all day and no one is complaining about fatigue,” says Campbell, pointing to Downing and Herbert. He also openly wonders whether the track’s properties could shift the balance of what counts in running away from raw power towards technique, rhythm and relaxation.
Campbell says that “overspeed” training (getting your body used to moving at higher paces) has a huge training value in itself and, with the track’s data, he can already envisage creating prototypes for the “perfect” technical race for different weights, heights and sexes of athletes.
“At every stage, everything that I hoped would happen has happened,” says Campbell, who has become Feldspar’s global track strategy director alongside his work with British Athletics, where he oversaw medals in all five sprint relays in Paris. “I want to leave a proper legacy at British Athletics. Working on this gives me the opportunity to take it to a whole different level. As we get closer to LA [the Olympics in 2028], everything will make sense with regards to what we are trying to do here. I want to make our athletes the greatest in the world. It’s an opportunity to change athletics forever.”
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Continue reading...
The 100 metres in under nine seconds?
It was a frontier in human evolution that was regularly debated between 2008 and 2016 when Usain Bolt was redefining a sport. One scientific study pinpointed the year 2068. Another, undertaken for World Athletics, concluded that 9.27sec represented the limit of mankind’s performance.
No one has gone close to Bolt’s 9.58s mark in the intervening years but, at a laboratory just off the A428 near Cambridge, there is a belief that the supposed impossible has suddenly become very possible.
“There is the potential for early nine seconds if not sub nine seconds for a human,” says Alvina Chen, a Hong Kong-born sprinter turned entrepreneur who, after almost three years working with a British-based team of experts across physics, maths, electrical and mechanical engineering, chemistry and manufacturing, has overseen the world’s first digital ‘smart’ track.
Not only can its sensors provide a raft of real-time data that would be transformative to athletes, coaches, fans and media, but early testing has pointed to an energy return that is some 20 per cent greater than existing tracks.
“We see how running shoes have evolved a lot, training methods and nutrition… but one thing that hasn’t changed pretty much is the track surface – that hasn’t changed for like 60 years, from the 1968 Olympics,” says Chen, who is the founder and chief executive of Feldspar.
“We believe we are creating the first major advancement. With our track, we anticipate that it will be 20 per cent faster than the Paris Olympic track, depending on athlete ability and external conditions. Our vision is to have the track become the universal standard all over the world. We have the world’s fastest running surface.”
Darren Campbell, who is the head of sprints and relays at British Athletics, joined Feldspar last year and, after monitoring young sprinters on the track, believes that the benefits can be huge. Campbell’s eyes also light up at the thought of what it could mean more widely for athletics; a sport with such rich global history but often still stuck in its amateur roots. Instant AI-powered data that could be downloaded straight on to the cloud for all to see include speed, stride length, foot placement, acceleration rate, horizontal, vertical and lateral forces as well as flight time.
“You can run away from technology … and kind of stay in the dark ages, or you can embrace change,” he says. “We are going into an era when technology is at the forefront of every sport. When you start trying to immerse people into athletics, you are going to have to educate them and bring them on the journey.
“I’ve always watched Formula 1 but now I can see how it is easier for someone to get into because there is so much data. One of the only sports where I’d go, ‘Where is the technology?’ would be athletics. When did we last have some form of technology that isn’t a shoe? This is the innovation I feel that athletics has been waiting for. All of a sudden nine seconds doesn’t seem crazy.”
What are described as “positive talks” have already been held with World Athletics about potentially ratifying Feldspar’s “super track”.
Credit: Feldspar
On the day of Telegraph Sport’s visit to the Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP), the track was being trialled by Uzoh Herbert and Callia Downey, two leading young British athletes. The sprinters Teddy Wilson and Renne Regis have also been working with Cambridge scientists and inventors over recent years.
“The difference is scary – it’s revolutionary,” says Herbert. “I’ve done up to 50 runs today and I am able to keep going. It’s so soft and reactive – you get an instant push forward.” Downey nods. “You keep your form and flow more, losing less energy,” she says.
There is also an invite for Telegraph Sport to try out the track. Laid adjacent is a strip of the surface that has been the evolving standard in athletics since the late 1960s and the difference is striking. There is noticeably less impact through the body and more effortless forward bounce. It instantly reminds me of the contrast between standard running trainers and the carbon-reinforced “super shoes” which have come to revolutionise distance running and are often described as like running on clouds.
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Our Chief Sports Reporter gets to grips with the track and feels an instant difference - David Rose for the Telegraph
So how is the track so fast? The vision began with Chen who, after having her own sprinting career cut short by the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis, began pitching to various design engineer companies. She was turned down by more than 10 – “they said it was too hard and can’t be done” – before the Cambridge scientists accepted the challenge. They have since produced and tested 50 different iterations of the track. “Everything science and engineering has to offer has been thrown into it,” says Karlheinz Lamprecht, CPD’s senior engineer. “We have a 20 per cent gain in energy return in a world where two to four per cent makes a big difference. If you would drop an item on our track, it would not come straight back up, it would actually move forward. It converts downward force into a forward movement.”
Athletics tracks have evolved from cinder to the largely rubber structure we see now and, while there is some hesitancy to list every material that has been used, Lamprecht provides an outline. The top surface is “rubber and composite”, employing what he calls a “natural material that is used in shooting ranges to catch bullets” and mining to protect metal containers. There is then the all-important angled cantilever system, which actively helps to translate downward energy into forward momentum. In here, there is a mixture of fibreglass, epoxy and somerset resin, as well as recycled printed circuit boards to which you can add sensors. Various metals, acrylics and fibres were trialled in all different shapes in an attempt to develop a structure that best returned energy to the athlete. Prototypes without the angled cantilever system have also been produced.
It is stressed that no ‘new’ energy is being artificially created and, according to their tests, the structure will return 90 per cent of what a runner has naturally produced compared to around 70 per cent today.
Credit: Feldspar
“It is the law of thermodynamics,” says Lamprecht. “Energy is not created. There is no energy going in by a cable. It’s all the energy that the athletes put in.”
And is it fair? “It’s the same conditions for everyone,” says Lamprecht. “With the existing track, each Olympic Games, they are evolving. Energy improvements are in the range of one to two per cent. The Paris track is in the range of one to two per cent better than the one in Tokyo. How is it fair to compare the times of Paris to Tokyo?”
Chen adds: “Not everyone can afford carbon-plated shoes. With the flooring, everyone can run on it and it is a level playing field.”
Another key characteristic is that the track is modular, meaning that it comes in pieces that can be transported and laid just about anywhere, from on top of an existing track to in the street or even across a frozen lake.
It all means that, while talks continue with World Athletics about required specifications, there would be nothing to stop unofficial ‘special category’ world record attempts in a similar vein to Eliud Kipchoge’s first sub two-hour marathon.
It would certainly generate huge interest, with thoughts already extending to the fascinating data and precision that could also be employed across field and endurance events, as well as other sports.
Campbell, who was an Olympic, European and Commonwealth champion, does not think that a potential rewriting of the athletics record books is a reason to resist progress. “To a degree you are remembered by your records but, in our sport, I think you are more remembered and respected by the medals you achieve,” he says.
After developing what is currently a 20-metre prototype, Campbell would now also love access to a full 100m straight of the “super track” on which British athletes could train and be tested.
Leading athletes have long been assessed on stationary force-plates – which each cost around £50,000 – and they can now also use speed camera and video technology to collect biomechanical data. But there are holes in the information, notably around the forces that are being generated into the ground, as well as the delay in feedback.
Discussions between Campbell and fellow coaches have left them hugely excited about the possibilities, particularly around the early identification of injury risks that would likely show up in subtle changes to an athlete’s usual pattern of running. “We will get a fingerprint of how each athlete works,” he says.
Credit: Feldspar
At a time when the sport is trying to put on more events – and routinely stretching the season – the advantages of a surface that appears less impactful on the body are also obvious.
“We have had those guys on there all day and no one is complaining about fatigue,” says Campbell, pointing to Downing and Herbert. He also openly wonders whether the track’s properties could shift the balance of what counts in running away from raw power towards technique, rhythm and relaxation.
Campbell says that “overspeed” training (getting your body used to moving at higher paces) has a huge training value in itself and, with the track’s data, he can already envisage creating prototypes for the “perfect” technical race for different weights, heights and sexes of athletes.
“At every stage, everything that I hoped would happen has happened,” says Campbell, who has become Feldspar’s global track strategy director alongside his work with British Athletics, where he oversaw medals in all five sprint relays in Paris. “I want to leave a proper legacy at British Athletics. Working on this gives me the opportunity to take it to a whole different level. As we get closer to LA [the Olympics in 2028], everything will make sense with regards to what we are trying to do here. I want to make our athletes the greatest in the world. It’s an opportunity to change athletics forever.”
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Continue reading...
