THE Jamaican sprinter and her Olympic-record time captured everyone’s attention Saturday. What’s under foot, though, might have been a factor when Elaine Thompson-Herah broke a 33-year-old Olympic record in the women’s 100 meters.

The brick-red track is made by Mondo, a company that’s been around since 1948 and has been the supplier for 12 Olympic Games.

This particular surface, according to the company, features “three-dimensional rubber granules specifically designed with a selected polymeric system that are integrated in the top layer of MONDOTRACK WS that are added to the semi-vulcanized compound. The vulcanization process guarantees the molecular bond between the granules and the surrounding matter, creating a compact layer.”

“Feels like I’m walking on clouds,” U.S. 100m sprinter Ronnie Baker explained of the surface. “It’s really smooth out there. It’s a beautiful track. One of the nicest I’ve run on.”

“Oh, it’s fast,” American 800m runner Clayton Murphy said. “Might take world records to win.”

The track went in over four months, from August to November 2019. It hasn’t seen much action since the surface was put in. The athletes are breaking it in with style.

“You just feel it, man, you just feel it,” South African sprinter Akani Simbine said. “You know what fast tracks feel like. And for us, this track feels really quick and I am looking forward to running quick on it.”

Mondo says on its website that the main objective was to “maximize the speed of athletes and improve their performance.”

“Some tracks absorb your motion and your force,” American 400-meter hurdler and world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin said. “This one regenerates it and gives it back to you. You can definitely feel it.”(SD-Agencies)