Paris Olympics: algorithms and purple rubber, here’s why you might see a lot of records on the track and in the pools
- Italian company that has produced Games track since 1976 went back to drawing board after Tokyo Olympics
- Athlete feedback and extensive testing aiming to help competitors run faster, jump higher and leap further
The purple pieces of vulcanised rubber track being produced at a factory in northern Italy will be run on by the world’s fastest athletes at the Paris Olympics.
They have been made with one clear goal. Records.
After three world records and 12 Olympic marks were set on the track in Tokyo three years ago, expect more records to fall at the Stade de France.
That’s why Mondo, the company that has provided the track at every Summer Games since Montreal in 1976, went back to the drawing board after the Japan edition.
With the help of athlete feedback and extensive testing, new generation granules that are more elastic and cohesive are being used to produce the upper layer of rubber for the Paris track.
Multiple algorithms were explored before finding a more optimal shape and dimension for the air cells inside the track, which have been designed to minimise energy loss and enhance performance.