How the Paris Olympics developed one of the fastest courses in the world – with the help of mussel shells

With a tap of his cane on the newly unveiled track, legendary American long jumper Bob Beaman signaled the start of the Olympic track and field program Friday morning. An expectant crowd of 70,000 was also in attendance, and it’s safe to assume that among the millions of spectators around the world, there was one question on the rise: Why the purple track?

The striking surface is newly constructed at the Stade de France and by working with a Sardinian fish farming company to incorporate shellfish into the composite materials, Mondo claims to have combined sustainability with their fastest track ever.

The athletes’ early verdict was also favourable. “That track is definitely fast,” said British track captain Josh Kerr after winning his 1500m heat in a brisk 3min 35.83sec.

Jon Ridgeon, CEO of World Athletics, added: “The track is fast. Really fast. And the athletes come here in superb form as well. I really wouldn’t be surprised if we see four or five world records.”

How is the route different from Paris?

A modern prefabricated track essentially has a top layer to ensure efficient water drainage and optimal foot contact, and above that a bottom layer designed to provide both cushioning and optimal energy return – or bounce – to the athlete.

Manufacturer Mondo has an entire scientific research center dedicated to the study of surfaces and biomechanics, including a partnership with an engineering lab at the University of Milan. This allows them to use machine learning to produce virtual prefabricated tracks before producing their actual prototypes.

Special attention has also been paid to combining the track surface with the evolution of carbon fibre covered ‘super spikes’ with specially reactive foam.

Compared to their previous version ‘Mondotrack’, which was originally designed for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the main innovation in Paris can be found in the geometry of a new basic design with special elliptical air cells.

According to Mondo, these ensure the track “responds smoothly and dynamically to every step, jump or throw” and improve both absorption – important in preventing injuries – but crucially also energy return for athletes. The previous air cells were shaped like hexagons and there is confidence that the modified version, with its lack of sharp edges, is more efficient. The latest incarnation has been dubbed the ‘Mondotrack with Ellipse impulse technology’.

The new track took two months to make at Mondo’s factory in Alba, Italy, and weighs almost 300 tonnes, covering a total area of ​​15,570m². A team of six engineers worked from March to June earlier this year to install the track. It is estimated to have cost around £2m.

Why purple?

Tracks around the world are generally produced in that familiar red clay colour. The blue that was most memorable in Berlin when Usain Bolt set his 100m and 200m world records is also an increasingly popular alternative, including the Stade de France in the past.

But the Paris 2024 organisers wanted something unique, and in collaboration with World Athletics and the Olympic Broadcasting Services, opted for purple. One attraction was that purple had never been seen before – “it will help to engrave the images of the Paris 2024 Games in the minds of spectators, television viewers and athletes,” according to Paris 24 – but there was also the belief that it would provide an optimal television experience.

After studying 40 different shades, two shades of purple were used, along with a deep grey in the upper curves. This is a direct nod to the asphalt track on which Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams sprinted to gold medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics exactly a century ago.

There is a darker purple on the technical zones, while a lighter purple marks the actual competition areas around the main 400m loop and the runways for the field events. The wider backdrop of the Olympic advertising hoardings that frame the seats in the Stade de France are also designed to compliment shades of purple that were also assessed for their resistance to UV rays.

“We had to work hard on the colours so that the shades would work best to highlight the athletes,” said Alain Blondel, the athletics manager for Paris 2024. “It has to be beautiful, but above all it is a stage on which the athletes will perform. What is very important is that the colours and the athletes stand out.”

Who are Mondo?

While the aesthetic vision was important to organisers, the priority for athletes and fans is the quality of the surface and its potential to create conditions where we can see world records. It was no surprise then that Paris 2024 turned to Italian company Mondo, who have been trusted to build the track at every Olympic Games since 1976.

They are also the first choice at numerous world championships, including those in Budapest last year and at the London Stadium track, which is renowned as one of the fastest in the world, where Keely Hodgkinson ran her stunning British 800m record two weeks ago.

Since synthetic tracks replaced the old cinder tracks used until the Tokyo Olympics exactly 60 years ago, Mondo says 70 percent of all subsequent world records – more than 300 in total – have been set on its prefabricated surfaces.

They also supply the other athletics equipment in Paris, notably the hurdles, mattresses, high jump and pole vault racks and track markings.

What is it with those Sardinian shellfish?

Mondo says sustainability is also at the heart of their work, and they have been exploring how they can produce the same or better results using more climate-friendly materials. One particular product of their research over three years has now led to a partnership with Sardinian mussel farm and fishing cooperative Arbora to use shellfish for a key rail link.

The shells, which are commonly found in the Mediterranean Sea, are rich in calcium carbonate and are also often used in flooring products. According to Mondo, the partnership “turns a waste product into a resource, avoiding the extraction of calcium carbonate and its resulting environmental impacts.” They say that using the mussel shells is equivalent to offsetting the emissions of a Euro 4 diesel car that has driven 60,000 km. It also significantly reduces landfill waste.

What is the verdict so far?

As the first participating athletes moved through the mixed zone area after Friday’s first session, there was a repeated observation. “Fast,” they said.

Dina Asher-Smith particularly appreciated the look: “It’s a beautiful purple track – they don’t put us on slow lanes anymore.” The British sprinter had a bad night on Saturday when she failed to make the 100m final, but bounced back in the 200m heats on Sunday.

It’s no less than Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, had expected. “The track manufacturers always want a track and a Games that are faster than the last one,” Coe said. “I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t be the case here. It’s part of the landscape and I think it’s good that people are investing and that performance is improving.”

But as a former athlete himself, isn’t it frustrating that his own best times are increasingly being overtaken by people he almost certainly would have beaten? “I don’t think an international federation, or any civilization, is best served by strangling technology,” he said.

Blondel, a former European decathlon champion herself, is thrilled with the end result. “The general feedback is: ‘Wow. That’s spectacular.’ It feels like a jewel that we shouldn’t touch too much. But my first feeling when I came in was that I would like to wear spikes again and run in them.”

After the disappointment over the lack of world records in the Olympic pool – which was often blamed on the depth of the water – there is a sense around the Stade de France that both the athletes and the conditions for the record books could do with an update.

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