Seb Coe

between not wanting to strangle innovation because i don't think any civilization has probably done well out of that concept but at the same time we don't want innovation to be so intense that we're sort of losing track

of the integrity of the competition.

And Spencer, it's a delicate balance.

I absolutely accept that.

We have no input at all into you deciding to run, for instance, in a 50-millimeter stack

uh underneath your you know your shoe and running the london marathon we do have an issue about that for elite competition because that then really does start to rewrite

You know, the record books.

And there'll be some out there listening to this that will be saying, well, that's already sort of taken place.

And look, if I go back to my own circumstances, I think I went from being fourth on the all time list to barely being inside the top 10 in just one race in my home country.

know the home of the federation here in monaco so look that developments around us and you know rudolph harbig back in 1936 was running 146 and bits for 800 meters on a cinder track roger bannister was breaking four minutes in in a set of running spikes uh one of my road shoes

weighed less, or one of his spikes weighed more than both my road shoes that I was training in 25 years later.

So there has always been that development.

The challenge at World Athletics as a regulator is to try and level the playing field.

And it's not an easy landscape.

Well, you can use a prototype for a few months, but the basic proposition is that beyond that time, that shoe has got to be available on a retail shelf.

So again, it's a balance.

But coming back to the point you made, you're absolutely right.

It's horses for courses.

Some shoes are going to suit people.

They're pronators.