The International Skating Union is considering limiting the development of clap skates, an official says.
The controversial hinged skates, introduced on the World Cup circuit last year, led to dramatic improvements in performance. Fifteen world records in the distance events have been set on clap skates this season.
However, many claim that the technology has become too dominant and now overrides athletic ability.
“I think the ISU shares the concern that slap skate development may get beyond reasonable limits, so we are considering having a clause in our regulations from which restrictions could be issued,” ISU technical committee member Tron Espeli said.
At their June congress in Stockholm, the ISU will propose a clause stating that all energy expended during a race “must originate from the metabolic work of the skater,” said Gerhard Zimmerman, second vice president of the ISU.
The new skates, which release at the heel, allow skaters to keep their blades in contact with the ice longer while taking a stride, which provides a more powerful thrust.
The skates were pioneered on the World Cup circuit last season by Dutch female skaters. Their success prompted competitors from other countries to switch from traditional designs which had remained virtually unchanged for 80 years.
Before switching, the Germans sought confirmation that the new skates would be allowed at the Nagano Olympics, while the United States pressed to have them banned. Derided in some quarters as a perversion of the sport, claimed as unstable for heavier skaters and unsuitable for shorter distances, the skates have become mainstream equipment in less than a year.
“All of these claims were disproved one after another from late November to March–even in the 50-meter sprint for men,” said Espeli. “Everyone now accepts that this is the basic design for the modern skate.”
During the last year, skate designers around the world have been tinkering with the original Dutch-made model. An American company has developed a double-hinged skate that it claims allows even fuller leg extension while Norwegian designers are working on a model which has hinges that unlock only after the first 100 metres of a race so skaters can benefit from the stability of conventional skates at the start line.
The results of their labors–and the skaters’ success in adapting to the new designs–will be on display at Nagano next month and Espeli does not hesitate to predict what is in store for speedskating fans at the Games.
“I expect that there will be no surviving world records from the pre-clap skate era,” he said.
Biathlon flap: The Winter Olympics may put Nozawa Onsen, a hot springs and ski resort, on the international sports map. But villagers are up in arms over rifle-toting biathletes shooting up the hillsides.
Japan’s strict gun-control laws have presented officials with a host of difficulties–and possibly a big hit for local businesses.
Mitsu Sato, head of the village’s Olympic preparations, said two lifts and a ski slope will be shut during the Games because they fall within a 770-yard safety zone that by law must be established around shooting ranges.
Closing the lifts could cost resort owners $2.2 million in lost revenues.
“The city has been in a panic about closing the lifts,” Sato said. “They didn’t understand why things had to be different from Europe.”
Biathlon combines rifle shooting and cross-country skiing.
Immediately after Nagano won the Games, deep concerns were expressed about how the shooting aspect of the biathlon would be handled under Japan’s gun laws, among the world’s strictest.
Handgun possession is virtually unheard of. A law banning anyone under 18 from using firearms in this country had to be revised in March 1996 to allow underage foreign biathletes to compete.
Nagano organizers say biathletes can expect possibly the tightest supervision ever.
All guns and ammunition will be inspected and transported to a special lockup area at the Olympic village. The amount of ammunition each country will have will be specified, and every cartridge will be counted after firing.
For identification, each athlete will have the iris of his or her eye scanned–a high-tech version of fingerprinting.
But while many foreign athletes may feel a bit pinched under Japan’s laws, they can count themselves lucky compared with aspiring Japanese biathletes.
Nagano officials rejected a request from the Japanese biathlon team to train in this town with live ammunition last summer. The team is training in Europe.
