At the Olympics, Marcell Jacobs he really got some help. Like him, dozens of athletes who have raced on Tokyo 2020 athletics track, designed by the Italian company Mondo based in Alba.
“It seems to run on the clouds” said the American sprinter Ronnie Baker, who in the semifinal of the 100 flat meters set the 13th best time ever over this distance (9 ”83). His compatriot Sydney McLaughlin, who in Japan won gold in the 400m hurdles, with the new world record (51 ”46), said: “Some tracks drain your energy. This one instead gives it back to you “. The secret is right here.
“We worked a lot on the return of energy – he says Federico Stroppiana, vice president of the Mondo Group – compared to the past we got a performance improvement of athletes between 1.5% and 4%”.
They seem like small percentages, but over short distances they can make a huge difference. Think of Italy in the 4×100 final, one hundredth of a second faster than Great Britain. Or Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah who in Tokyo, in the final of the 100 meters flat, improved the Olympic record of Florence Griffith who had resisted for 33 years: 10 “61 against 10” 62, a gap less than the blink of an eye.
In short, the track of the Tokyo Olympic Stadium is very different from those of the past. “After Rio 2016 we started studying how to restore more energy to athletes – explains Stroppiana -. We did it by working on rubber granules that are above and below the mantle and which make up 30% of its mass “.
In the past, the waste from Mondo tracks was ground precisely to obtain granules. The turning point came when the Alba company realized that those rubber crumbs, with a different blend, would have given a better result. “So now we produce them, apart” states Stroppiana, who underlines how the Alba company, in this way, does not betray the environment: “The surfaces of our athletics tracks include up to 38% recycled materials, free of contaminants, and up to 10% natural rubber, therefore not petroleum based “.
The department dedicated to research, in Mondo, is made up of 25 people. Between these, experts in raw materials, blending and biomechanics. “It is important to study how the track will respond to the needs of a sprinter or, for example, a middle distance runner, says Stroppiana. Once produced, the rubber mat is tested by athletes and external companies. In the case of the Tokyo track, Mondo relied on both Asics and the Michael Johnson Training Center in Dallas. Just from the compliments of the former sprinter Johnson, US legend with his five Olympic gold medals, the Italian company has understood that it is on the right path.
The most frequent comment of the athletes involved in Japan, on the other hand, was: “The track is like a springboard”. Not surprisingly, one of the most impressive world records of Tokyo 2020 came from 400 in men’s hurdles. Shortly before the Olympics, the Norwegian Karsten Warholm entered history by running and jumping in 46 ”70. In Tokyo, on the Mondo track, he shattered his record by almost a second (45 ”94).
Another athlete who has improved himself, on the red mantle of the last Olympics, is Marcell Jacobs. In the qualifying heats of the 100 flat meters, the blue crossed the finish line in 9 ”94 (Italian record). In the semifinals, Jacobs dropped to 9 ”84 (European record). In the final he won in 9 ”80s. An extraordinary progression, which the track may have given an extra gear. But the vice president of Mondo does not want to steal the show from the blue: “Our track is fast – says Stroppiana – however our data refer to tests carried out hundreds of times without pressure. An Olympics is different, other factors take over”.
And Tamberi, instead? He also exploited the miraculous granules to win gold? The mantle of the crescent on which the high jump takes place is also produced by Mondo. “In those areas, however, the material used is slightly different – explains Stroppiana -. I can say that Tamberi benefited in a very small part”.
Athletes and technology, heart and innovation: the bond is getting closer and closer. And to those who ask him if it is right, Stroppiana replies: “Our work is at the service of everyone, to the same extent. The real difference continues to be made by those who run ”.
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