{"id":3723,"date":"2020-02-10T12:42:46","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T17:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/entrepreneurlaw\/?p=3723"},"modified":"2020-02-10T12:42:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T17:42:46","slug":"do-governing-bodies-hamper-innovation-or-incite-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/entrepreneurlaw\/2020\/02\/10\/do-governing-bodies-hamper-innovation-or-incite-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Governing Bodies Hamper Innovation or Incite It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A marathon stretches just over 26 miles. According to MarathonHandbook.com (a website devoted to long-distance runners) the\u00a0average marathon finishing time is 4 hours, 21 minutes, and 49 seconds<\/a> with some participants finishing in the 6 to 7-hour range. A sub-3-hour marathon is considered an excellent time. But a sub-2-hour marathon? Impossible\u2026. that is, until Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge completed a marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds<\/a> in Vienna in October 2019, becoming the first person in recorded history to break the 2-hour barrier. Interestingly, fellow Kenyan long-distance runner Brigid Kosgei shattered a 16-year-old women\u2019s record<\/a> by 1 minute and 21 seconds the very next day.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s only one tool of the trade: the sneakers that the athletes use in competition. But no pair of sneakers have caused as much fanfare and tumult in recent history than Nike\u2019s \u201cAlphafly Next%\u201d \u2013 the sneakers that both Kipchoge and Kosgei wore when they broke their respective records. Technological innovation is the name of the game when it comes to running sneakers used for competition. The Alphafly<\/a> boasts a lightweight midsole foam called \u201cPebax\u201d and a carbon fiber plate. The sneaker was scrutinized<\/a> and its use in future competition was questioned<\/a>: there was a call for banning the sneakers as some claim that they essentially act as a spring, giving athletes more forward push from each stride. Thus, some argued that using them pose an unfair competitive advantage that erodes the integrity and spirit of the sport.<\/p>\n

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(WSJ Video<\/a>)<\/p>\n

With the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo just around the corner, the international governing body of athletics, World Athletics, acknowledged that there was a cause for concern: regulations state that shoes cannot confer an \u201cunfair advantage\u201d and must be \u201creasonably available\u201d to everyone. Ultimately, in January of 2020, World Athletics ruled<\/a> that the Alphafly (and another controversial sneaker, the Nike Vaporfly<\/a>) would not be banned from competition, but it did establish guidelines for sneakers to be used in competition following its investigation:<\/p>\n