From wavelights to smart watches and supplements, how technology rules athletics world

Experts say discussions should be about whether the new technological developments in athletics encourage fair competition or not.

“That technology is enhancing performance is no longer a secret. It is a question of affordability and whether it gives an advantage to athletes who can afford it or all of them regardless of their financial abilities,” sports scientist Byron Kipchumba says.

Felix Mutai, who placed second at the 2024 Eldoret City marathon, says it’s difficult for an upcoming athlete without a manager to afford the basic training accessories, including food, shoes and shelter.

“Training is expensive, especially when you are still trying to grab the attention of managers who would sponsor your training. You struggle with house rent and other basics, leave alone a good shoe and supplements and access to modern technology; those are beyond reach for most athletes,” he says.

Standard Sports takes a look at some of the technologies that have caused waves in recent years.

Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor

When two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge was spotted with a white material just above his right elbow during the 2021 NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, the Netherlands, many athletics enthusiasts took to social media to ask what it was.

It later turned out that the accessory affixed on the former record holder was an innovative sports biosensor that monitors glucose levels to help athletes understand optimal nutrition intake.

It was then reported that Kipchoge was training with it, in a partnership with Abbott, the innovator, on his road to securing back-to-back Olympic marathon titles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics staged in 2021.

“More NN Running Team athletes will be allowed to work with Abbott’s biosensing technology to help maximise performance levels,” a statement by NN (that time) read in part.

Chris Miller, division vice president, global brand strategy and innovation at Abbott during the testing stage, told the NN running team: “We developed our glucose sport biosensor to help athletes reach their goals, and we’re proud that our technology supported Eliud during his incredible performances last year. We look forward to expanding to more athletes and supporting Eliud’s quest in all his races, including the Abbott World Marathon Majors and the 2024 Olympics.”

The running team said the innovation allowed for simple but significant nutritional adjustments both on a day-to-day basis in training and on race day itself.

“It’s my dream to win all Abbott World Major Marathons in my career….  I am very happy to be on this journey with Abbott, and I am already halfway there! I am very happy to be on this journey together with Abbott to further maximise my training and achieve my goal,” said Kipchoge.

According to Valentijn Trouw, Global Sports Communication and NN Running Team Performance Director, the biosensor helped improve training programmes for some athletes.

“We aim to help all of our athletes to take the next step forward based on his or her needs. To be able to do so, it’s crucial to understand the athlete first. The Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor is a great tool for our performance team to understand the athlete and to improve their programme based on the information we get from the Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor,” he said.

According to the manufacturer, the Abbott Glucose Sport Biosensor is not intended for medical use.

“It is not intended for use in screening, diagnosis, treatment, cure, mitigation, prevention, or monitoring of diseases, including diabetes,” Abbott explained.

The latest market prices indicate that it costs an average of Sh8,000.

Omius Cooling Headband

At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, marathoners were spotted donning a new accessory on their heads.

Belgian Bashir Abdi, who won an Olympic silver medal and Dutch star Abdi Nageeye, a silver medallist from the 2020 Tokyo Games, wore the headband last year. The latter did not finish in Paris.

Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, just like Kipchoge, has also been seen wearing the headband.

Three-time Olympic Champion Faith Kipyegon ran on the accessory at the Sirikwa Classic World cross Country Tour at the lobo Village on February 23. She, however, did not win the race.

Omius, the manufacturer of the headband, says it has an amplified cooling effect that makes it ideal for use in races run under high temperatures.

When water or sweat evaporates on the surface of the skin, it absorbs heat and cools the body, the innovator says.

“The amplified cooling effect of the Omius technology comes from water being absorbed into the cooling pieces where it has five times more surface area for evaporation. The transformation of water from a liquid to a gas on the surface of the graphite pulls heat from the inside of the cooling pieces, which are in contact with the skin, thus cooling the skin.

“Because the cooling effect is driven solely by water evaporation, the effect will continue indefinitely as long as the cooling pieces are wet and have airflow across them.

“The cooling pieces are made of a highly thermally conductive graphite coated in a hydrophilic coating that optimizes the uptake and evaporation of the water that powers the cooling effect.

“The cooling pieces will continue to cool indefinitely as long as they are wet, sit in direct contact with the skin, and are uncovered so air can flow across them,” Omius says in its website.

Coros Pace 3 watch

Experts say the watch has a range of advanced racing analytics.

They say it comes with an application which enables athletes and coaches to view performance, scores and pace ranges for aerobic endurance, training load, stride length and elevation, among other training elements.

All these are more within the Coros app. This is then compatible with a selection of third-party running apps, including Strava and Apple Health. Plus, the Pace 3 comes with training plans and workouts if you’re not following a plan already.

Wavelight technology

In most track races, a pace is set and athletes can easily know whether they are within world record or meeting records speeds during a competition.

Olympic marathon bronze medallist Helen Obiri caused a storm in December 2020 when she told BBC that the use of wavelight technology, the latest track pacing technology, was akin to doping.

The two-time world 5,000m champion Obiri said the new system that helps athletes target a specific race was an unfair advantage.

“Let’s give athletes equal opportunity because maybe some athletes cannot go to the race,” she told BBC Sport Africa.

Obiri went on to say: “With wave light technology, you don’t need to train 100 percent because you know there is something which is going to boost you (during the race). It is like you are doping.”

World Athletics, the global governing body, said the new technology was named “after the Mexican wave because of the similar fluid motion of the lights. Dr Byron Kipchumba says wavelight technologies are used to train athletes in developed countries.

“It is not available for training in developing countries and athletes from those nations are disadvantaged,” the athletics trainer says.

Soon after it was introduced in 2020, two world records were broken on the track and it was believed that wavelight technology aided the tumbling of the two fastest marks.

The two World Records were set by Joshua Cheptegei (10,000m) in and Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey (5,000m).

Nutrient supplements

University of California, in one of its studies, found that supplements for amino acids, the building blocks for protein, are promoted as helping build muscle.

However, the research found that the average diet already has two-to-three times more protein than is needed.

“But many athletes look for any way to gain an edge on their competition or quickly reach their personal goals,” the study found.

The study says there’s no scientific evidence to support products that claim they’ll increase muscle size, strength, energy or athletic performance.

“It’s also important to note that high levels of specific amino acids can potentially produce a toxic effect. It can place an extra burden on your kidneys and contribute to kidney failure in the long term.

“Unnecessarily adding individual vitamins and minerals into your diet can also create imbalances within your body.

“This can lead to major changes or long-term health effects. Unnecessary supplements can be potentially toxic and may reduce your body’s ability to absorb other nutrients,” the report said.