International governing body World Triathlon has issued a statement about On CloudTRI run shoes worn by Norwegian elite triathlete Gustav Iden.
Bizarrely, a protest about Iden’s shoes, used in the World Triathlon Championship Series Abu Dhabi event, on March 3, came from a ‘representative from the Norwegian federation’.
Speculation has been made that the unexpected protest by the Norwegian federation about one of its own athletes was a way to test shoe regulations ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Long course triathlete Iden, taking place in the elite sprint distance event in Abu Dhabi, finished 52nd out of 56 elite finishers.
World Triathlon statement…
World Triathlon received a protest from a representative from the Norwegian Federation regarding the shoes used by athlete #41, Gustav Iden (NOR), in the World Triathlon Championship Series Abu Dhabi, held on March 3.
The Head Referee received the protest. The athlete’s shoes were collected following the protest and sent to World Triathlon Head Office in Lausanne for further inspection, according to the World Triathlon Rules.
According to the protocol, World Triathlon contacted World Athletics, who has identified and confirmed that those shoes were listed in their approved shoes list before March 3 under the name ON SHOES CloudTRI 1 per their specifications, therefore the protest is dismissed.
The pair of shoes will be returned to the athlete, and the results are confirmed as stand.
