Breaking In a New Coach and the New Shoes

Tag : and shoes


The first move, parting with his coach, Clyde Hart, brought a shockto track and field circles in January. Hart, after all, is widelyconsidered the top quarter-mile tutor in the world. He coachedWariner to Olympic gold in 2004 and previously guided MichaelJohnson to Olympic supremacy and the world record of 43.18 seconds.

The second move, wearing Adidas spikes that address thesignificantly different ways in which Wariner’s left andright feet strike the ground, was an effort to shave hundredths ofa second off his personal best of 43.45 seconds, the third-fastesttime ever run.

Wariner will run the first round of the 400 on Sunday here at theUnited States Olympic track and field trials. So far, his switch toa new coach and new spikes has proved both encouraging and a riskygamble. Wariner has posted the world’s fastest time thisyear, at 43.98 seconds. But he was also handed a rare defeat —to the American LaShawn Merritt — at a meet in Berlin on June1.

Some now view Wariner as vulnerable, though he clearly does notadmit any susceptibility. He firmly believes he can become thefirst person to break 43 seconds and is determined to win Olympicgold medals in the 400 and the 4x400 relay.

“I feel I’m going to go out and P.R.,” Warinersaid Saturday, meaning setting a personal record. “If anybodywants to beat me, they’re going to have to P.R. by a wholelot.”

When Wariner was beaten this month in Berlin, he summoned his kick“and I didn’t go nowhere.” Since then, he hasworked to strengthen the final portion of his race, doingrepetitions of 450 meters at practice, sprinting through the first400 meters in 50 or 51 seconds when he once aimed for 53 seconds.

If he has put other quarter-milers in his rearview mirror, though,he has not yet fully escaped the backlash that came from severingties with Hart, his longtime coach.

According to Hart, who coached Wariner at Baylor and thenprofessionally, the move was a monetary decision. Wariner thoughthe was not making enough money after paying Johnson, who is hisagent, and paying taxes, Hart said, and wanted to reduce his annualpayment to his coach. Wariner previously paid him 10 percent of hisearnings, Hart said, but wanted to cut that amount nearly in half.

Hart declined to take a pay cut.

“I don’t feel I’m a discount coach,” hesaid. “Jeremy had the best year of his life last year. Ididn’t feel like a cut of nearly 50 percent wasjustified.”

Hart also said that Wariner might not have wanted such a strictcoach now that he had become so accomplished. Wariner disputedHart’s account. It was not money or strictness, he said.Wariner said he was concerned that Hart, who is in his 70s, wouldsoon be retiring. Without being specific, Wariner also said,“There’s things I wasn’t comfortable with, and Ineeded a change.”

He is now coached by Michael Ford, an assistant at Baylor. Hisworkouts are exactly the same, Wariner said, and if he needsHart’s advice, he is certain Hart will oblige.

“He’s losing experience — when to do a workout orhow to change things a little,” Hart said.

Johnson stayed out of the dispute, Hart said. Both sides say theywish each other well. His focus now, Wariner said, is repeating asOlympic champion and breaking Johnson’s world record.

To that end, Adidas has developed what it calls the firstasymmetrical track spikes, creating shoes that are meant to performdifferent functions for each foot.

Adidas engineers found that Wariner uses his left, or inside, footfor stability and his right for propulsion. His left foot strikesthe ground along the midline, while his right strikes on theoutside and rotates inward as he pushes off with his big toe andsecond toe.

Essentially, Wariner’s right foot is always running thecurve, even when he is on a straightway, said Mic Lussier, the headof Adidas’s innovation team.

To facilitate Wariner’s power and traction in the curve, thenew shoe, called the Lone Star, contains plastic claws, orcrampons, on the inside front edge of his right shoe. Lussiercompares the design to a racecar with different suspension systemson the left and right sides for racing the turns.

The second curve of the 400 — or the third 100-meter section— is considered the strongest part of Wariner’s race.“A lot of people seem to relax a little bit and take abreather real quick before they get into their kick,” hesaid. “That’s where we make up a lot of ground.”

The sole, or plate, of the shoe is made of carbon nanotubes, whichmake it 50 percent lighter and a third as thick as Wariner’sprevious shoes. The spikes themselves have also been redesigned.Many spikes are pyramid or Christmas-tree shaped. Wariner’snew spikes have a tiny head and broad shoulders.

This design is meant to compress the surface of the track insteadof piercing it deeply, thus preventing a valuable loss of energy byripping in and out of the track with each step. Wariner’sspikes penetrate the track only about two or three millimeters,compared with six or seven with other spikes, Lussier said.

Shoes alone will not bring a world record, though. Wariner says heneeds to improve his start and forget about time.

“When you try to force time, you’re going to tighten upor think you’re running too fast or too slow,” he said.“I’ve got to run comfortable, let it come.”