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What is the exit strategy? How athletes can maneuver out of the COVID-19 pandemic

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Category: Essays

Published: 08 April 2025

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What is the exit strategy? This is a question many athletes ask numerous times whenever they find themselves in a position of endless defending during a match. It is the same question, the world is asking itself about the COVID-19 pandemic, especially now that data scientists project that the bulk of the world will reach its peak of infection and fatalities this April, thereafter the pandemic trend will plateau and finally taper away. 
Athletes just like all other people will need an exit strategy. No athlete wants a repeat of the pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns and curfews. The pandemic has caused immeasurable disruption to the 2020 sporting calendar. For some athletes, the pandemic has been career defining. 
With sports now a globalized activity where an athlete can be in all the five continents for sports related events in a span of one month, they are at risk of exposing themselves to various infectious diseases. From time to time, the infections put them off activities for a couple of weeks but most of the time they protect themselves through prophylactic (preventative) medicines or the use of vaccines. However, not all vaccines are suitable for athletes especially the elite, who are constantly being monitored by anti-doping agencies. Why then would an athlete worry about the contents of a medically approved vaccine that is safe for human use?
Allow us to teleport you to a biotechnology class. Since there is no definitive anti-viral treatment for the COVID-19 disease, vaccine development is currently being considered as the best mitigation strategy among the masses who are yet to contract the virus. However, what is the principle of vaccine development? Vaccines are classified as either whole virus vaccines, subunit and nucleic acid vaccines Where a whole virus vaccine uses the entire virus particle that has been  fully destroyed using heat, chemicals, or radiation; a subunit vaccine is a fragment of the virus, typically a surface protein while nucleic acid vaccination involves the injection of a plasmid (naked) DNA or messenger RNA (mRNA) to elicit an immune response against the virus.
With the advancement in biotechnology in the last thirty years, nucleic acid vaccines have become very popular. (Nucleic acids are basically DNA and RNA, which are the genetic material that carry information in cells needed for protein formation and transfer of inherited characteristics). For COVID-19, these vaccines will work by modifying the binding location of the virus in the lung. This location is known as the angiotensin converting enzyme type 2 receptor (ACE2); and that is where the fear for most elite athletes lies.  ACE2 is needed in the relaxation of blood vessels (veins and arteries) and lowering of blood pressure. A lower blood pressure makes elite endurance athletes such as marathoners not to get fatigued very fast, and so run for a longer period. 
Previous studies done among 64 endurance athletes (rowers) in Australia reported that they had significantly higher proportions of ACE1 and ACE2 genotypes compared to the normal population.  In Israel, deletion of the ACE genotype was associated with elite endurance athletes. Although the reported studies have not conclusively associated ACE2 with elite performance, it is not clear whether modification of this gene by the COVID-19 vaccine could influence elite athletic performance.
Recently, the scientific world was elated to hear the development and subsequent successful patenting of the vaccine against the Zika virus that almost derailed the Rio 2016 Olympics. The Zika virus vaccine developers have presented to the world both the nucleic acid and whole-virus versions. Some of the drug companies behind Zika virus vaccine such as Inovio Pharmaceuticals are also developing a DNA based vaccine for COVID-19. The remaining front-runners are packing their vaccine with mRNA, the genetic material that comes from DNA and makes proteins. 
Even though the demand for the COVID-19 vaccine is urgent and real, it portends a challenge in clean sports as mentioned above where; intentional or unintentional use of any gene altering product is prohibited. This prohibition has been fueled by scientific reports which have demonstrated that certain genetic traits do improve muscle strength, health-related fitness, training volume and ultimately athletic performance. These genetic benefits can be added to a person who originally did not have them through gene editing, gene silencing and gene transfer technologies administered commonly by injections. The world antidoping agency (WADA) calls this gene alteration for purposes of enhancing athletic performance - gene and cell doping, which it defines as: “the use of nucleic acids or nucleic acid analogues that may alter genome sequences and/or alter gene expression by any mechanism.” In the ultra-competitive sports world where success is defined by world records and superhuman performances, temptations for gene doping are getting stronger. It will be crucial that the gene alterations associated with the COVID-19 nucleic acid vaccines are well considered. Athletes will be caught between a rock and a hard place should the vaccine do alterations that will be considered gene and cell doping. 
Although WADA and its affiliate federation-specific antidoping agencies allow for therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) among various medical products and interventions on their prohibited list, there could be need for a more explicit clarification. This is because, the risk of viral and other infections increases the probability of vaccine use among the populace, including athletes. Secondly, the availability of whole-virus and subunit vaccines option should be seriously considered to avoid wading through the murky waters of gene-doping. As for now, we can only hope for both a nucleic and whole virus vaccine while the sporting world continues training from the confines of their homes. 

The race for the best marathon super shoe heats up

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Written by: admin

Category: Essays

Published: 08 April 2025

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Ever since Nike introduced their carbon fiber midsole shoe, Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% in 2017, the debate on the best road running shoe has never stopped. Initially, the competition for the best marathon shoe was between Nike and Adidas, however, all other major sports shoe brands like Asics, Brooks, KipRun, New Balance, On Running, Puma and Saucony, to name a few, have since developed their version of a super shoe. 
What is the obsession with super shoes in the marathon? 
The marathon is an endurance race making athletes’ comfort and energy efficiency key to a podium finish. These “super-shoes” have carbon fiber embedded in them to enhance performance by optimizing shoe bending stiffness and increasing an athlete’s vertical jump height. Previous “normal” marathon training and competition shoes were mainly made of foam in their midsole. A higher carbon fiber midsole thickness of approximately 3.6 centimeters in super shoes further increases the athletes' cushioning and running economy by about 25% compared to conventional running shoes. 
These carbon fiber embedded shoes came to the limelight in the Nike Breaking 2 event, when Eliud Kipchoge attempted to run below 2 hours in Monza-Italy on 6th May 2017 using Nike ZoomX Vaporfly 4%. From then on (in 2018), Nike was leading the pack in marathon shoe design, winning five of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors in the men’s category and three of the six women’s Marathon Majors. However, by 2022, things were very different in the men’s category of the World Marathon Majors, as Adidas managed to turn the table on Nike by winning four races, with Nike only taking the remaining two men’s category races. In the women’s category, Nike won three and Adidas took two and Under Armour, through Sharon Lokedi, went home with the final win at New York Marathon.  
One would therefore wonder what Adidas has done in 5 years to catch up and overtake Nike at the World Marathon Majors. Let us look at the World Athletics’ (technical Rule 143) on Clothing, Shoes and Athlete Bibs. Rule 143 advises that a shoe may be customised only for aesthetic or medical reasons to suit the characteristics of a particular athlete’s foot. However, where “World Athletics has reason to believe that a type of shoe or specific technology may not comply with the letter or spirit of the Rules, the shoe or technology may be referred for detailed examination, and such shoes may be prohibited in competition pending examination.” Despite this, the rule is silent on the stiffness and flexibility of the carbon fiber plate on the marathon shoe. Therefore, with two out of three wins in the men’s World Marathon Majors this year going to athletes using Adidas shoes, what is their winning edge?
Let us now delve into the new carbon shoes that have emerged over the past 5 years. After Eliud failed to break the two-hour barrier by 26 seconds using Vaporfly 4% in 2017, Nike went back to the drawing board and came up with the Alphafly Next % that achieved the 1 hour 59 minutes target during the INEOS 1:59 race in October 2019 at Vienna, Austria. Recently at the Boston Marathon (2023), Eliud raced with Alphafly Next % 2 (an upgrade of the INEOS shoe).
Adidas’ first super shoe was the Adizero Adios Pro, a carbon fiber plate-embedded footwear.  This shoe was used by marathon greats such as Peres Jepchirchir who went on to win the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021. After that, Kenya has seen other great marathoners such as Amos Kipruto (London 2022), Benson Kipruto (Chicago 2022) and Evans Chebet (New York 2022 and Boston 2023) who all used the new variant shoe, Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3.
Despite this correlation, it is misleading to conclude that it is only the shoe that is increasing the chance of Adidas' success in the recent Abbott World Marathon Majors. It could also be the individual athlete management approach increasingly adopted by Adidas compared to Nike, where only Gold and Platinum labeled athletes enjoy these top-notch benefits, with the rest being lumped into group contracts. Individual contracts other than paying better, allow multiple athletes to try their own unique training style and increase the overall chances of success as opposed to only a few very elite athletes receiving preferential treatment while the rest act more as subordinate athletes. This is a risky approach in the event the over-hyped (Platinum or Gold labeled) athlete with a super shoe has a “bad day in the office".
Lastly, because of the wide variation and availability of carbon fiber plate technology for elite marathon shoes, more athletes from other stables such as Asics, Under Amour and On-Running are also getting either podium finishes or ultimate wins. This could also be attributed to the 2020, World Athletics technical rules that require shoes to be used in major races must have been available to the public four months prior to the event. This rule creates an allowance where a development (protype) shoe is allowed to race for a limited time before it is made public. This allowance seems to be the one most companies are using to edge out their competitors. A case in point is where at the Boston Marathon 2023, Hellen Obiri running her second ever marathon, won wearing an On Running prototype, On CloudTri 1 shoe, in fifth position was Emma Bates with another prototype shoe by Asics, the Metaspeed Sky+. 
Among elite athletes, sporting talent is more or less similar, therefore, could technoscience be the deciding factor and not athletic ability? It is worth noting that in sports, the concept of human body authenticity is held in high regard because sporting narratives are built on the belief that bodies decide who wins and who loses. When all is said and done, we can be left with the question of whether it was human grit or technoscience that prevailed. On the other hand, sports cannot be seen to be technophobic, where we shy away from any scientific advancement. Sports should integrate natural progress in technology wherever it helps to improve the conditions under which the athletes compete. It should optimize their athletic performance in equal measure without predetermining the outcome but rather providing equality of opportunity. Super shoe technology is out there for all to enjoy, the race is on for 2023 shoe honours, with athlete talent held constant, may the best shoe win the “manufacturers title”.

It is a team effort: success secrets of top athletes

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Written by: admin

Category: Essays

Published: 08 April 2025

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In our first instalment of this two-part special report on sportspersons’ welfare, we deconstructed a typical athlete’s sports contract. We also discussed at length how successful athletes have avoided retiring into a life of poverty and ridicule after a high life in the sport’s fast and flashy lane. This week, we are furthering the conversation to its logical end by delving into the backend of a successful athlete’s life.
The best of sport narratives involves a comeback that entails overcoming insurmountable hurdles. Take the case of Serena Williams who by March 2018 following a long absence from the court was unranked in the tennis world! After an illustrious career, it was unthinkable that she would fall so low; however, by September of the same year she had clawed her way back to world top 20 and won the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Comeback Player of the Year award. 
Tiger Woods too has had more than a fair share of problems on and off the greens - four back surgeries since 2014, including a spinal fusion operation in 2017. In May 2017, he was arrested on a drinking under the influence (DUI) charge and was ranked 1,199th on the Official World Golf Ranking by the end of that year. In April 2019 after 14 years without a golf Major, he staged one of the biggest sports comebacks in history; winning The Masters and ending the year as world number six. 
What does it take to make such turnarounds in one’s sports life? Is there a secret to a long and successful sporting career like the above two living legends have shown? 
It takes more than just physical strength, luck and talent for a comeback on the big stage. It requires mental fortitude, a tremendous amount of self-belief and a great support network. Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Felix Sanchez and Faith Kipyegon are epitomes of all these qualities. So, what are the secrets to a successful sports life, and, should there be a major drawback, how does one stage an awe-striking comeback? 
First, a sports career should be taken very seriously; much as it starts at a minor age when one is naïve and gullible; it’s short and intense and either way has lifelong effects. After providing for the physical attributes and talent, the biggest determinant of a successful sports career is the support network an athlete has; ranging from psychologists, nutritionists, financial advisors and of course the immediate family. Hellen Obiri, the current world 5000m champion, owes the title to her husband Tom Nyaundi, who called to calm her down when race anxiety was getting the better of her hours to the race in Doha last October. In their earlier years, whenever the Williams sisters were on the court, their parents were on the stands cheering them on. Kultida Woods- Tiger Woods mother, was at her son’s side on 19th February 2010 to provide support as he apologised for his "irresponsible and selfish behaviour" and afterwards his mother stated: "I'm so proud to be his mother, period. He didn't do anything illegal. He didn't kill anybody." To err is human and to have a family support that helps you regain your humanity is priceless. 

For the football star Emmanuel Adebayor, it was the professional support structure at his Tottenham football club that helped him through a tumultuous period when his family in Togo almost ruined his career. After a series of financial blackmails and outright theft from his own family, in 2015, the football star stunned the world with a Facebook blast of his natural family for their greed and lack of gratitude. 

Making a turnaround and subsequently a comeback is a combination of support structures, self-drive and financial position. 
One of the first professionals a sports person needs in their support structure is a psychologist. Sports psychologists not only train elite sports persons on mental toughness techniques that boost and sustain outstanding performances but also help athletes rehabilitate after injury, and deal with the day-to-day anxiety. Since physical training is both strenuous and stressful, psychologists adopt performance routines to enhance and maintain consistency for faster reaction time and appropriate response. Positive mental conversations (self-talk) are encouraged to enable athletes execute challenging tasks, while activation control strategies are needed to ensure their energetic state is at an optimal level. 
Furthermore, mindfulness and other techniques are promoted to sharpen their focus and sustain both attention and concentration over long periods. Therefore, by simulating the competition environment through mental imagery and conducting scenario assessment, the athlete is prepared beforehand to handle any eventuality. These mental techniques if well practiced are very useful off field and in post-active-sports life.

Where a sports psychologist is not available, most coaches usually integrate the behavioural science principles in their training regimen to help support the athlete psychologically. However, even where there is a sports psychologist, coaches and team managers should double up as mentors and chaperones to guide their athletes on how to handle training stressors, pre-competition anxiety, adversity that follows injury, how to be gracious in defeat and humble in success. The celebrated Harambee stars coach, the late Reinhardt Fabisch, used to bring in sports psychologists at his own cost to talk to the players before major matches; no wonder many remember his glorious reign in the 90s.  

Much as having a good support structure is important, being self-driven and belief is key to thriving. This is because when all is said and done, it boils down to the athlete. Self-drive and belief is supported by an athlete’s objective of getting into the sport in the first place. Simplistic ambitions such as boarding a plane and being famous will not sustain you long enough. The drive should run deeper than overcoming personal poverty. What makes elite athletes such as Eliud Kipchoge, Lewis Hamilton, Tiger Woods and Serena William remain on top of their various sports is an ambition beyond themselves. They are in sports not only for themselves but for the greater good of the society as they ably show via their Foundations and Charity organisations.  This selfless ambition will steer you through adversity and keep you hopeful for better days. When you face a stronger opponent, you will be more tactful and remain resilient throughout the process.

Since elite sport is not a recreational activity but a commercial venture, financial backing plays a key role in its sustainability. During an athlete’s low moments (injury and undesirable performance), their financial welfare suffers greatly. Many of the above comebacks would not have been a reality were it not for the undying support of their major sponsors. When all the sponsors withdrew from Tiger Woods, Nike never left him during the entire decade he was in the doldrums. The financial support that he received from the sports apparel and shoe company kept him going through training and treatment. 

When San Francisco 49ers did not renew Colin Kaepernick’s contract because of his open support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Nike did not remove him from their list of sponsored athletes. Nike came out fully to support his action through an advert feature to mark the beginning of the 2018/2019 National Football League (NFL) season. From these experiences, the relationship between sponsors and athletes needs to be two-way. The same way athletes give companies a second chance, they do deserve a second lease of life -albeit with strings attached, since no company has unlimited resources. 

Finally, if the sad stories of African athletes dying in abject poverty are to end, they need to take their careers seriously, keep off destructive company, invest for the future and have a close neat network of authentic and reliable support crew. Success is a team effort.