Katharine Merry writes about her brushes with technology, plus the power of role models, as she looks forward to Faith Kipyegon’s attack on the mile
I remember myself and Christian Malcolm being part of the UK launch of Nike’s “Swift Suit” in London 25 years ago. It was not a garment I fell in love with and there’s a picture somewhere of me wearing it, looking less than impressed. The first time we saw it we thought: “what on earth is this?”
To those of you who might not remember, it was a sleek, full body suit – including hood – designed to make its wearer more aerodynamic as they made their way around the track. This was at a time when the development of swim suits at the elite end was also making headline news and leading the discussion when it came to technological advances in sport.
I don’t like having things on my head and face when I run so I never raced in the Swift Suit and it was a concept that never really caught on, but its place in athletics folklore was assured thanks to Cathy Freeman famously wearing it when she won the Olympic 400m title in Sydney.
It turns out she had made an appearance in one just a few weeks previously – running 200m in the rain at the Gateshead Grand Prix – but she certainly hadn’t worn her green and gold garb during any of the qualifying rounds of the 400m at the Olympics so, when she lined up in lane six sporting it for the final, the rest of us did a double take. When you’re wearing something like that, you have to win, don’t you?
Did it make her run any faster? It might well have done but I’m not so sure. In all honesty, I think Cathy could have worn a bin bag and still won that race! I do still have my Swift Suit in my loft but the thing that makes me smile most about it is the fact that I can still fit into it.
I know there were other colourful, unusual outfits on show at track and field meetings before 2000, and of course footwear has always been evolving, but that’s the first real crossover moment I can recall when it comes to technology and an athlete’s apparel. It felt like a major turning point.
So, what prompted me to take a trip down this particular memory lane? Faith Kipyegon’s upcoming attempt at breaking the four-minute mile. Nike are going to be looking at every means necessary to find those vital fractions of a second so I wonder what special tricks will be up their sleeves when it comes to what she’s wearing for the run. I’m not so sure the Swift Suit will be making a comeback but I can’t wait to see what they come up with.
The whole enterprise has peaked my interest, I must say, and I love that she’s going for it.
When I think back to Cathy Freeman and that Sydney final, it was such a groundbreaking performance in so many ways and she proved herself to be a remarkable role model.
Faith has already set a superb example with her feats on the track – and it has been noticeable, too, that whenever she has set a world record she has been lauded by her fellow athletes – but she will join an illustrious list of barrier breakers and trailblazers if she manages to pull off what would be the mother of all athletics tricks in Paris. There is a chance here to make a new generation sit up and take notice.
Role models are so important and this topic was another reason why my mind drifted back in time recently. Hands down, my inspiration was Kathy Cook, or Kathy Smallwood as she once was. I know the phrase “you’ve got to see it to be it” is now massively overused but it was absolutely true in this case. Watching her compete at the LA Olympics in 1984 and seeing her win bronze in the 400m and 4x100m relay made me go “wow”!
I had just started athletics and I could just relate to her. She was reasonably local and what she did in LA was amazing. Our careers ended up following very, very similar trajectories, which is why she inspired me. I wanted to do what she did and then I ran under 50 seconds for the first time in an Olympic final and came third, just like her.
To me, no one could touch Kathy, and that’s why it was such a thrill to induct her into the England Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. It hadn’t been easy to track her down, given that she stepped away from the sport completely after she stopped competing, and I think that’s perhaps why she remains massively underrated.
You’ve got to remember that she broke the British 400m record in LA with 49.43 and it wasn’t broken until 2013. Similarly, she came incredibly close to a medal in the 200m as well and the British record of 22.10 she set in that final wasn’t broken until Dina Asher-Smith ran 22.07 at the 2015 World Championships.
And don’t forget that Kathy was running those times (her 100m PB was 11.10) in an era that came well before super shoes or Swift Suits, while she was also up against athletes from Eastern Europe who we now know were not playing by the rules.
Yes, she was a great role model to me and I love the fact that now, with Faith’s attempt, all of the focus and attention will be on what a woman might be capable of. That in itself is a rarity.
With it being a mile, there’s also a relatability to it. Yes, I know that someone like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone runs a world record pretty much every time she races but, in terms of a landmark in an event, trying to run a sub four-minute mile is something most people can get their heads around. There’s a weight and a substance to the idea.
Plus, what Faith and Nike are trying to do is an enormous ask. Removing almost eight seconds from the world record? That’s huge. You try running one lap of a track in under one minute and then you’ve got to do that another three times in a row.
It’s a wonderful talking point but, let’s be honest, to have the maximum impact she really has to break the barrier. It seems crazy to say but I don’t think going faster than the world record is going to be enough. We’ve seen her break world records before but going under four minutes would be huge.
Coming back to the theme of technology, would Faith even be looking at something like this if the advancement in technology hadn’t happened? Not a chance. But, as we all know, selling shoes has become huge business and I think a great byproduct from that has been the growth in opportunities for athletes to attack records as part of their collaborations or deals with sponsors.
I was in Tokyo recently with ASICS, who had arranged a race in conjunction with a shoe launch at which Nadia Battocletti broke the European record for 5km. There’s a business angle to the sport now that I think gives the athletes these chances and, if they’re good enough, they’ll grab them with both hands.
I hope that, later this month, Faith can grab this one.
(Since this article was written, Nike has revealed details of the shoes and apparel that Kipyegon will be wearing in Paris during her Breaking Four attempt)
