Fig. 1.

Historical spikes from 1968 (A) and 2021 “super spikes” for a range of distances (B–F). A PUMA brush spikes (the Tahoe) have 68 needle-like spikes and were banned from competition in 1968. B Nike Air Zoom Victory, which combines a top loaded carbon fiber plate with ZoomX foam made with PEBA (polyether block amide) and an air unit under the forefoot. C Nike ZoomX Dragonfly which combines a PEBA plate with ZoomX foam; the plate is embedded at the heel and transitions to the spike plate under the forefoot. D New Balance FuelCell SD-X, which combines a bottom loaded carbon fiber plate with FuelCell foam made with nitrogen infused TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) on top. E Adidas adizero Avanti 2021 track spike with ‘Lightstrike Pro’ foam, and glass fiber energy rods in the forefoot. F PUMA evoSPEED Distance Nitro Elite + with Nitro foam made with nitrogen infused EVA and an embedded full-length carbon fiber plate