Rise of the sport’s ‘super material’: How athletes like Alexander Munyao and Emmanuel Wanyonyi broke records wearing a NASA-inspired polymer – and Team GB will wear it at the Paris Olympics this summer

The moment sports fans have been waiting three years for is almost finally here: the Paris 2024 Olympic Games start on July 26.

During the 19-day event, 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will compete in 329 events ranging from athletics to skateboarding.

If you plan to watch the games, you may notice that several athletes are wearing sportswear with a swirling pattern on them.

Developed by Rheon Labs, this NASA-inspired ‘super material’ has already helped a number of athletes including Alexander Munyao, Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Tamirat Tola is going to break records.

Olga Kravchenko, head of design at Rheon Labs, told MailOnline: ‘Our technology has combined years of biomechanical research with complex chemistry in a way that will unlock a new world of athlete potential and shape a new era of performance for everyday runners. .’

Rheon Labs is a London-based collective of innovators designing the ‘next breed of supermaterials’.

‘Our Rheon technology is an energy-absorbing superpolymer that is responsive (sensitive to strain rate), lightweight and performance-oriented,’ Ms Kravchenko told MailOnline.

‘It can be used as a material or ‘ingredient’ for sportswear to optimize performance.’

In its natural state, the polymer is soft and flexible.

However, when exposed to force, it absorbs the energy and stiffens.

Ms. Kravchenko compares this behavior to that of wet sand.

“Similar to running on wet sand, it only hardens on impact and then becomes soft and supple again,” she explained.

‘This unique capability means it can provide support and reduce energy inefficiency when needed, without sacrificing comfort.’

In practical terms, the material positions the muscles in the most efficient position, ensuring that no energy is lost during the match.

“In a world of elite sports, an incremental gain (just 0.3%) can mean the difference between first and fourth place,” Kravchnko said.

Rheon’s super material is currently used by several clothing brands in their products, including Rapha, Harley Davidson and Ruroc.

Adidas also uses the material in its Techfit and Adizero ranges, which have already proven popular with many prominent athletes.

In recent weeks, several world records have been broken by athletes wearing Rheon.

“Alexander Munyao won the 2024 Men’s London Marathon wearing the adidas Adizero Control x Rheon shorts,” Ms Kravchnko told MailOnline.

And Emmanuel Wanyonyi set a historic men’s world record in the 2024 adidas Road to Record.

“Last year, Tamirat Tola broke the unbreakable 12-year men’s course record at the New York Marathon, using Rheon technology.”

Looking ahead to this summer’s Olympic Games, Rheon has been unveiled on the team kits of Team GB, Ethiopia and France, and could also help these teams’ athletes break records, according to Ms Kravchnko.

‘There’s no reason why not! We have already seen world records from Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Grant Holloway in Rheon, so we are hoping for a few more,” she added.

“For us, it will be a very proud moment to see athletes wearing Rheon in Paris in front of the entire Rheon Labs team.

“We are proud that technical innovation within the sport is taken seriously and highlighted in such prestigious games.”

As with any new technology, there are likely to be concerns that Rheon could give athletes an unfair advantage, often referred to as ‘tech doping’.

“The conversation around Engineering & Sports will always be interesting,” Kravchnko said.

‘You only have to compare what athletes wore fifty years ago to see how much progress has been made in the equipment athletes use across the board, as well as in their nutrition and training.

‘It is ultimately the governing bodies that decide whether there is an unfair advantage and we must all adhere to these rules to be eligible for international competition.’

In 2019, concerns were raised about Nike’s Vaporfly running shoes after a study found that they give runners a four to five percent advantage over others during races.

Meanwhile, the LZR Racer, a swimwear line made by Speedo, was famously banned in 2009 because it gave swimmers an unfair advantage.

However, Ms Kravchnko told MailOnline that there is one key difference between these controversial technologies and Rheon’s supermaterial technologies.

“We are simply reducing the limitations on the human body’s potential, while past technologies have had an added benefit, such as carbon plates for additional propulsion,” she said.

If you’re not an Olympic athlete, don’t be put off, as Ms Kravchnko says the super equipment can be just as effective for amateurs.

“Everyday consumers are increasingly aware of the performance benefits of technical running apparel, and are also wary of performance apparel that focuses solely on aesthetics,” she said.

‘Rheon combines both technical advantages and aesthetics through its collaboration with adidas.

“It’s available for consumers to purchase for a reason: to help everyone achieve individual goals, whether that’s a first 5K PB or a world record marathon.”