Why records could fall at Kipchoge Keino grounds during Olympic trials

As the clock ticks towards the Olympic trials, the new tartan track on Kipchoge Keino Stadium has set tongues wagging at the possibility of several national athletics records being broken.

The new theatre, with Mondo tartan laid on the track, will host the Rio Olympics national trials on June 30-July 1.

Several experts and athletes interviewed by FeverPitch say the tartan track is faster.

Kipchumba Byron, a sports management and policy lecturer at Moi University, said: “Mondo track has a small resistance between the shoe (spikes) and the surface. And this promotes efficiency in motion as the impact of the spikes takes minimal time.”

Kipchumba, who coached Kenya’s top female athletes among them world 10,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot and former world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei while students at Sing’ore Girls in Keiyo North, went on: “I am certain that previous stadium records and some national records could fall.”

He said Mondo track provides the ideal blend of speed and ease in competition and training, which was witnessed at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, where five world records were set on the track.

Kipchumba said he believes Mondo track converts the maximum amount of force generated by athletes’ foot strikes to energy for maximum energy return, which helps athletes achieve faster times compared to running on other surfaces.

Eliud Kipchoge, the 2008 Olympic 5,000m silver medalist, said Mondo track doesn’t have the texture of real leather but, “feels like a mix of rubber and sisal.”

“The legs don’t get tired easily. But that’s with a minimal advantages over other tracks. I can put it at 0.1 per cent, where you can improve say two or three seconds. You can’t make 20 minutes! That’s it,” said Kipchoge, the London Marathon winner.

“I expect stadium records in men 800m and 1,500m races as well as women’s steeplechase races. Eldoret altitude (2,100m above sea level) and Nairobi (1,500m) contribute slight difference in time. We expect athletes to struggle a little bit in Eldoret,” said Kipchoge.

Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium and Kasarani Stadium also have Mondo tracks.

Vivian Cheruiyot, who eyes her maiden Olympic gold medal, said: “I have not competed at the Kipchoge Keino Mondo track. But I need to check on my time during trials. If it’s the same Mondo-like one in Beijing, then it will be good.”

Wilfred Bungei, the 2008 Olympic 800m champion, concurs with Cheruiyot.

“In most cases, world records are broken in Mondo tracks as spikes do not penetrate. It’s hard unlike other tracks,” said Bungei.

David Letting, one of the national coaches and a sports official in Uasin Gishu County, said Kipchoge Keino is faster due to its texture.

“Since there is less time the foot is in contact with the track, so less time is spent on the ground. This helps athletes run faster than when they run on other surfaces,” he said.