Paris Olympics' latest innovation gives Neeraj Chopra's 90m ambition great boost

India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra

The Paris Olympics are just over a week away and Indian fans have got a new reason to celebrate. Paris' Stade de France, the athletics venue for the 2024 Olympics, will have lavender-hued tracks, which is a change from the usual red-orange as seen in most athletic events. The newly introduced tracks is said to be more beneficial to athletes, and in return it could also see them break more records at the upcoming Games that gets underway from July 26.

In fact, the nature of the track can also prove to be a big advantage to India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra, who'll be aiming to break the 90m barrier, a target that he has been chasing for quite some time. His best throw at present is recorded at 89.94m, which he achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden on June 30, 2022.

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A tweet shared by the official handle of Paris Olympics highlighted the new track colour. It also mentioned that "records are made to be broken, hope this track will help." The tweet also informed that the tracks are supplied by Mondo, an Italy-based company, who have been doing it since the 1976 Olympics.

The purple track
No more red-brick clay color, our Olympic & Paralympic track is going purple for the first time ever in the Stade de France. This new one is supplied by Mondo, Official Supporteur of #Paris2024. Records are made to be broken. Hope this track will help pic.twitter.com/0Pr1EGHo7a

— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) May 21, 2024

So before we delve further, let us understand what exactly is a Mondo track?

In appearance it looks like a hard carpet, but if we look closely the tracks have two layers. The top is made of vulcanised rubber, which offers better grip and elasticity and underneath lies a layer of air-filled cavities, that acts as shock absorbers to athletes. The tracks are designed after consultation with top track and field athletes, and is considered to be the fastest in the world.

How it is an advantage for Neeraj?

For those who have followed Neeraj closely are aware about the fact that he isn't a power thrower. It is his technique that helps him stand above the rest. In simple terms Neeraj doesn't rely solely on muscle power to execute gigantic throws, instead he employs a rotational technique. The rotational technique involves generating pace off the track and using movement in a way to create maximum impact.

In addition Neeraj extensively competes on European circuits, which mostly have Mondo tracks. Neeraj has also often pushed for a Mondo track in India.