World Athletics has today published the list of approved competition shoes, following the amendments to Rule 5 of the Technical Rules announced on 28 July 2020.
The list has been compiled following introduction of the requirement on 31 January 2020 that any new shoe that an athlete proposes to wear in international competitions needed to be assessed by World Athletics.
The list does not contain every shoe ever worn by an athlete but it does include some older models of shoes that manufacturers sent to World Athletics for assessment by its independent expert. The position with older shoes that are not on the list is that they still need to comply with the rule going forward. The athlete, or their representative, will need to ensure their older shoe complies with Rule 5.13 in terms of the maximum sole thicknesses for their specified event and any inserted plate or blade, including spike plates if relevant.
Under Rule 5 of the Technical Rules, athletes (or their representative) have the responsibility to provide World Athletics with specifications of the new shoes the athlete proposes to wear in competition. World Athletics accepts shoe specification and samples submitted by manufacturers for further examination.
If there is doubt about a shoe (particularly shoes that no other athlete has) then athletes, officials and meeting organisers should first refer to the approved list.
If the competition referee has a reasonable suspicion that a shoe worn by an athlete might not comply with the rules then at the conclusion of the competition the referee may request the shoe be handed over for further investigation by World Athletics.
The list of approved shoes will be updated regularly to reflect any new information received.
“Transitioning rules is never easy but is significantly harder with the current pandemic and the challenges we all face in staging, competing and providing kit and equipment during this time. We will continue to communicate, clarify and explain the rules and would like to thank our athletes, Member Federations, meeting organisers, shoe companies and technical officials for working with us to ensure the rules are understood and adhered to and, when this is not possible, that we resolve issues quickly, consistently and compassionately within the framework of the rules,” said World Athletics CEO, Jon Ridgeon.
World Athletics
