“My abilities not centred around spikes” Michelle Jenneke says her controversial shoes had least to do with new PB at World Athletics
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Michelle Jenneke
Michelle Jenneke of Australia, who competed in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, still finds it hard to comprehend how quickly she raced at the most recent World Championships and it wasn’t because of the footwear she wore.
At the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the times were swift. Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, who ran 12.12 seconds in the semifinal, broke the world record for the 100-meter hurdles, and Jenneke recorded a personal-best 12.66 seconds. Amusan went on to win the race in 12.06, but it was with an unpermitted tailwind.
“It was unbelievable. I still can’t believe I ran that fast. I keep going back looking at footage of the race and just going, ‘Oh my gosh, did I actually do that?’” Jenneke said. Wearing brand-new, springy Adidas spikes intended for 5000m and 10,000m runners, Amusan shattered the world record. Unlike conventional sprint spikes, which are firmer and harder, they include a very light foam. This sparked a discussion regarding the impact of modern technology. “My abilities are not centered around spikes,” Amusan said.
Wearing the shoes made by New Balance, American hurdler Sydney McLaughlin shattered the 400-meter hurdles world record earlier in the competition. Michelle easily outperformed her previous personal best of 12.82 and is now the second-fastest Australian woman after Sally Pearson. That business is excellent. “It was incredible. Honestly, a career goal that I have had for a while was to run 12.60-anything so to have done that and achieved that, I am weirdly content, which is odd for an athlete.”
Michelle Jenneke believes that the caliber of today’s women has increased
“Sally ran 12.28 – let’s not pretend I am anywhere close to where Sally was, she was phenomenal, she could run that time any day of the week, which is incredible. It is awesome to be the second-fastest Australian of all time behind her. She is a pretty incredible athlete to be behind“. “I ran quite a PB in that race and ran in the same shoes that I have been running in for the last five years,” she said.
“I know I can’t attribute my PB to the shoes because it’s the same shoe, the same model of shoe. I have tried some of the newer spikes that they have coming out, the technology is amazing, and I’m sure people are faster but at the same time if you go back 10, 20 years, look at the shoes people were wearing, they were entirely different to what we were wearing five years ago. The technology is forever evolving”.
“I don’t think we are seeing anything that is causing that much of a change that it needs to be questioned. World Athletics is constantly reviewing this, they do have a compliance list for the shoes, and they have to be checked. I don’t think there is a huge story personally and in terms of me there is definitely not.”
She also believes that with the caliber of today’s ladies, it won’t be long until the world record falls below 12 seconds. “It seems incredible that someone is going to do that but look at the quality of the field we had, there are so many girls who are so close to it. Everyone is pushing each other along.” Jenneke, who recently set new personal bests, is keen to compete in another race at the Commonwealth Games, which begin on Friday (AEST). While moving quickly, she won’t be guided by any expectations.
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