Last update on. From the section OlympicsTokyo Olympic Games on BBC Dates: 23 Jul-8 Aug Time in Tokyo: BST+8. Listen live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and BBC Red Button; Listen live on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra, and Sounds; Live text and video clips available on BBC Sport app and website.At Tokyo 2020, records continue to tumble on the track for athletics. Many cite the impact of "supershoes" and an Olympic track designed for speed.These three new world records are just one shy of the totals from Beijing 2008 and London 2012, which were already set in these Games.Simon Gleave of Nielsen Gracenote, head of sport analysis, says that "With more than half the athletics program still remaining, three additional improvements to world records would make this the Olympics without a doubt the best since Montreal 1976 when there were nine."How much difference has the track and shoes made in Tokyo?What records were broken?USA's Sydney McLaughlin broke her own world record to win women's 400m hurdles. This was 24 hours after Karsten Warholm of Norway did it to win gold in men's 400m hurdles.Rai Benjamin and Dalilah Mohammed, who were second in the women's and men's races, also beat the old records. Five of the final five women's 400m hurdles runners ran personal bests.Elaine Thompson-Herah, double sprint champion, set an Olympic record in 100m. She also ran the second fastest time in history in 200m. Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela set a world record when she won Olympic gold in triple jump.Shoes: Technological progress or too far?Many athletes wear super-light shoes that contain a rigid plate and foam that provide a propulsive feeling to each stride.Some critics claim that the shoes, which were first created by Nike, are the same as "mechanical doping". They are hailed by supporters as a breakthrough after decades of stagnation.Geoff Burns, a biomechanics researcher and expert in running shoe technology, says that "there seems to be acceptance now that new generation shoes are part of this sport moving forward."Warholm, however, criticized Benjamin's Nike shoes after he won gold on Tuesday and stated that he was working on his own shoe with Puma as well as the Mercedes F1 team.Warholm added, "He had these things in his shoes which I hate." "I don’t see why you should place anything underneath a sprinting shoes. It takes away credibility from our sport, I believe."Michael Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, spoke on BBC One to doubt whether "super shoes" give an unfair advantage.He said, "I heard Usain bolt say the other day that if the shoes get too fast it's really unfair.""It would be a problem if equipment made the athletes work faster than they are." That is not what we want."A track that gives athletes an advantageThe track designers at the Olympic Stadium added rubber granules on the 14mm track. The lower layer is hexagonal and leaves little air pockets.Andrea Vallauri, track designer, stated to the Guardian external-link that it provided shock absorption and some energy returns; there was also a trampoline effect.He said, "We have improved the combination and that is why we are seeing an improvement in performance."He stated that the surface provided an external-link performance advantage of 1-2% to athletes and was the fastest in history.Fast times can also be attributed to the Tokyo trackMcLaughlin, 400m hurdles champion, said that after her record-breaking run, the track external-link gave her energy and "pushes you forward". She added: "It was really cool...to push the boundaries of the possible."What's the verdict?The track is clearly proving to be beneficial. However, every Olympics sees the organisers bidding for an innovative running surface.While the debate about how much "super shoes" cost is still a contentious one, athletes say they have an impact.Lord Coe, president of World Athletics, stated that he was just "viewing really talent athletes who are probably running faster on fast surfaces".He said, "For as long I can recall we've had discussions about tracks that were fast and tracks that weren't,""Warholm runs fast, but we know he is fast and probably ran a bit faster on this track. Sydney, Dalilah and Rai have also done it.
