MONDO makes it to the Olympics, for the 12th time! Because MONDO's story, and that of the Olympic Games, is actually a story that stretches back over forty years.
Indeed, it was 1976 when the Organizing Committee of the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics chose MONDO for one of its tracks: it was the first Olympic supply, which opened the doors to all subsequent ones.
Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988. In 1992, with the Barcelona Games, MONDO became the exclusive Olympic supplier. The partnership continued with Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Finally, the highly anticipated Tokyo 2021, of which MONDO is a supplier of the Mondotrack WS track and sports equipment.
The reason for this enduring relationship? These statistics explain it all. According to World Athletics, more than 280 World Records have been established on MONDO tracks: in other words, this means, so far, 70% of all records recognized by World Athletics!
The total area of the athletics track supplied and installed by MONDO in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo and in the adjacent warm-up track, it is equal to about 35,700 sqm in total, which in other words means 420 tonnes of rubber, or 1,875 rolls each weighing 220 kg.
These impressive numbers add to the record time of production, shipping and installation of the Mondotrack WS chosen and created for the next Olympics.
The material was produced in just two months at the Mondo plant in Alba in Italy and arrived in Tokyo exactly a month later, in July 2019.
After a further four months, the expert team of Kuriyama Corporation (Mondo's Japanese partner), composed of 12 people, completed the surface installation process and finally, in December 2019, the Japanese Athletic Federation and World Athletics tested and certified the track, which also received the World Athletics Class 1 certificate.
So, what are the colours that will accompany the athletes in the race to the finish line?
Red, which was selected by the Tokyo 2020 organization; and black, for the outer and inner perimeter edges of the track.
The 2019 World Championships in Doha had already given a sneak preview of the new way of thinking about elite competition advocated by World Athletics; that of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics will be an equally incredible spectacle: not only due to the new athletics track, but also due to the supply of a range of equipment for athletics that has been totally renewed and redesigned in collaboration with World Athletics and featuring integrated LED technology.
MONDO has been an official supplier and partner of World Athletics since 1987 and the equipment that will be presented in July at the Olympic Games is the result of innovative design and technology, with all the features of MONDO products: maximum comfort, reliability and security for all athletes and protagonists of official competitions.
Can an athletic track meet all the needs of athletes? Yes, if it grows with them and translates what they need into concrete features applied to the track. That's why evolution it is a word that goes very well with the definition of Mondotrack WS which has been updated to become the official track of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. And compared to its previous version, installed in Rio during the 2016 Olympic Games, some things have changed.
The main objective of Mondotrack WS is to maximize the speed of athletes and improve their performance. To achieve this, MONDO has created a perfect combination of features: the fusion of two layers through a process that guarantees continuous, seamless material; the vulcanized rubber top layer that optimizes grip and elasticity, under any conditions; the air-filled cavities of the lower layer, responsible for shock absorption, energy storage and immediate kinetic response.
But the potential of the advanced Mondotrack WS does not end there, because what we will see at the next Olympics in Tokyo is a cutting-edge surface, the result of research stretching back several years.
The TY granules are certainly one of the key elements of these advances: embedded in the top layer, thanks to the vulcanization process, they bond perfectly to the surrounding compound. The result is a solid layer with further optimized elasticity and deformability. In fact, at the time of the foot surface iteration, the TY granules guarantee a uniform dynamic response and totally support the athletes in controlling their pace, rhythm and stability of the movement.
Another novelty that has been patented and applied to Mondotrack WS, is the Non Directional Tessellation texture. This tessellation model is responsible for optimal traction and drainage of the track, both in wet and dry conditions; it follows that in the moment of contact between athlete and surface, compression is optimized and the return in terms of time and energy is even better.
Finally, the revolutionary feature of the surface is the geometric structure in the form of elongated hexagons in the lower layer, deformable in three dimensions. The result is continuous support of the athlete's feet, increased stability and reduced lateral movement of the lower leg, all contributing to greater comfort and performance.
The combination of all these elements, and the best technologies resulting from working closely with the athletes, have allowed to Mondotrack WS to be the most technologically advanced track in the world.
The MONDO athletics tracks have already left a mark in past Olympics and the swathe of records still fuels expectations for a track that was born with athletes and their top performances in mind.
Now, with Mondotrack WS, we expect the tradition to continue and to confirm it, we just have to wait until 23 July, when Tokyo will finally inaugurate the start of the Olympic Games.
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