Athlete-specific sprint spikes designed using 3D printing technology

With the advancements in technology, athletes are always in the search for something that can help them in having an advantage over their rivals. Now that something can be anything from specially designed sportswear to shoes with comfort providing cushions or grip enhancing spikes. Keeping this requirement of athletes on the top of his mind, French engineer and designer Luc Fusaro has designed a pair of lightweight sprint shoes using 3D printing technology.

How this 3D-designed sprint spike will benefit sportsmen?

These specially 3D designed sprint shoes are customized for individual athletes. Before creating the shoes, Fusaro scanned the feet of the athlete and created a digital 3D model. On the basis of this digital 3D model, Fusaro designed soles of varying stiffness before producing the physical items from sintered nylon polymide powder using an additive 3D printing technique. According to Fusaro, these shoes that weigh 96 grams (3.4 ounce) could improve an athlete’s performance by up to 3.5%, which can be the difference between wining gold medal or going home empty handed from the elite sporting arena.

We won’t be able to see any athlete wearing these specially designed shoes at the upcoming London Olympics, but it won’t be a surprise if we spot a sprinter donning these 3D printed athletic-specific shoes before the next Olympics in Rio that is scheduled to be held in 2016. To know in detail about these athlete-specific sprint shoes.

Image credit: Luc Fusaro