– We have thought “what the hell” we are in 2024. Why do we still need this?, says German sprinter Gina Lückenkemper to news. She talks about the name tags and starting numbers of the athletes in the Olympics and the way they are attached. Several have noticed that they were hanging loosely on the clothes of the athletes at the Stade de France athletics stadium in Paris. The patches are only attached with safety pins. It has also given athletes problems with the patches coming loose and not fitting properly during competitions. STATEMENT: Rai Benjamin is fed up with the starting number. Photo: AP Because in the battle for precious metal and new records, small margins mean a lot, and several athletes agree in their criticism of the safety pins. – We have to get rid of the starting number. It’s so stupid, says Karsten Warholm’s boss in the 400 meter hurdles, Rai Benjamin. He has made it a battle, and almost demonstratively tore off his name tag after the Olympic final. – A volleyball player said to me “I don’t understand how you can run so fast, you can do it so well, but attach a sheet of paper to your suit before you compete”, says the American. DO WE NEED THIS?: Gina Lückenkemper (right) and Germany had closed on Friday, when they took Olympic bronze in the 4 x 100 meter relay. But they have little left over for the patent on the name tags. Photo: MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP – It must be anticipated. Several agree with the recent Olympic champion in the 400 meter hurdles. When news stopped the British team after their qualification for the 4×100 meter final, they quickly got excited when they realized what news’s question was going to be about. news’s reporter didn’t even have time to finish the question before Richard Kilty broke in: – We should have our names on the uniform like in football. It is unnecessary. All countries have money to spend ten dollars to write our names on the suits. It must be anticipated. Teammate Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake agrees: – With such small margins, we need all the competitive advantages we can get. For example, Noah Lyles had thousands on his side when he won Olympic gold in the 100 meters ahead of Jamaican Kishane Thompson. But the American has also struggled to get the timer chip to sit on the name tag. – We have these heavy pieces here, says Kilty and lightens the patch on his stomach and points, before he continued: – They bounce around and are quite heavy, explains Kilty. The Finnish hurdler Lotta Harala is also hoping for change. POSITIVE FOR CHANGE: Marione Fourie has often seen her hair stuck in the safety pin on her name tag. Photo: Reuters – To be honest, it’s very old-fashioned. I don’t understand why we don’t have a newer way of doing this, says Harala to news and adds: – I would really appreciate it if they came up with something new. South African Marione Fourie, who, like Harala, won her gathering heat in the 100 meter hurdles on Thursday, is annoyed by the patent: – My hair gets stuck in the safety pin, says Fourie, who also wants a change. The same has happened with Finnish Harala. – Yes, it happens sometimes, says the 32-year-old Finn. news has contacted the International Athletics Federation for a comment on the criticism, but has not yet received a reply. SIT LAUST: It was good for Narve Gilje Nordås in the 5000 meter attempt, but the starting number was wrong. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB Commander Warholm Warholm was also asked about the starting number at the press conference after the Olympic final. – Say no. Say you don’t like it, Benjamin commanded from the side. After some laughter from the audience and a smile from Warholm, the Norwegian gave his verdict. – I haven’t thought much about it, but I wouldn’t have been sad if they dropped it. He can get his way there. I’m not going to make a big deal out of it, because it doesn’t bother me that much, says Sunnmøringen. Then Benjamin spoke again. He believes that the sheet of paper on the stomach helps to make the performances weaker. – The shoe manufacturers spend a lot of money on development and create aerodynamic suits, but then you attach a sheet of paper to it. We might as well run in a t-shirt then. Why should you spend money on material and that it should be aerodynamic, if you have to do it. It creates a lot of resistance. THE PODIUM: Warholm, Benjamin and dos Santos receive their medals. Photo: Reuters Can learn from cycling news’s cycling expert Sondre Sørtveit believes athletics can draw inspiration from cycling. – There is certainly a potential to make the area in front of the body more aerodynamic. Especially for the sprinters, it plays a role. There are thousandths that decide, so there are extremely small margins, says Sørtveit to news. Great resources have been spent on optimizing suits and suit material in cycling, and news’s expert believes there is a simple solution to the name tag problem: – They could possibly use a pocket. When cycling, one uses a transparent pocket. Then you can design the pocket in a more aerodynamic material. POSSIBLE SOLUTION?: Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar with his jersey number integrated into his jersey. Photo: AFP It seems to hurdler Fourie that it sounds like a good idea: – That would probably be better. If you make something that makes you faster, or that helps with aerodynamics – why not use it? – Optimizing equipment has been shown to make a big difference in cycling, so I think it has something to look at, instead of using old-fashioned safety pins, Sørtveit believes. NAME TAG: Julien Alfred easily tore off her name tag when she took Saint Lucia’s first Olympic gold in the 100 m. Photo: Ashley Landis / AP He thinks athletics has been too focused on footwear. – Athletics has perhaps spent all its time and resources on this with shoes. They should try to look at all possible things. Sørtveit encourages athletes to test new materials and equipment. – Among the cyclists at the top level, there are very many of them who are extremely interested in testing various things themselves. Because they know how much it means to the end result. Dylan Groenewegen won the 6th stage of the Tour de France with an aerodynamic “beak”: Published 11.08.2024, at 16.45
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– Need all the competitive advantages we can get – Olympics Paris 2024
