World Athletics’ Mondo partnership drives release of new equipment designs

World Athletics and its official equipment supplier Mondo have announced the release of a new range of equipment designs that it says will “revolutionise elite competition equipment”.

Inspired by the innovative light show used in event presentation at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 and World Athletics’ new brand identity, Mondo has redesigned all of the equipment that is used in the elite competition arena - from lane markers and hurdles to landing mats and implement trolleys.

To be introduced this year, the designs aim to enhance the event experience for both fans at the venue and watching at home, the equipment will be put to use for the first time at the Continental Tour Gold meeting at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday, an event that will also serve as an official test for the forthcoming Olympic Games.

The new range incorporates the lines and colours of World Athletics’ new logo and will completely revamp the look of venues hosting either indoor and outdoor international competition.

For the first time, both the track and the equipment will be lit up, creating additional movement during the races. The new equipment features integrated LED technology, with devices on individual pieces of equipment that light up and adapt to developments in a race.

The lights have been designed to enhance the spectacle for fans, and also to focus their attention on different parts of the track and field when key moments and special performances are taking place. World Athletics said they will help the audience to navigate through the complexity of athletics competition when several events are happening simultaneously in a venue, by drawing attention and giving information.

The technology is able to produce a range of coloured lights to provide different information, for example, gold, silver and bronze to indicate the placings of athletes, or red and green for successful and failed attempts in the field. The uprights used in the pole vault will have vertical LED stripes that can display information on the validity of the jumps or announce new records.

Lane markers for track events will show more than numbers. They will be able to display images, animation or videos during the event presentation, and can also indicate disqualifications, all operated from a touch screen computer.

Ignacio Mercado, Director of Mondo Iberica’s Sports Equipment Division, explains “athletics is undergoing a revolution, both in design and in the integration of technology. This is a demanding sport that always requires the highest quality, which is why we at Mondo are so proud to have worked alongside World Athletics to redesign the equipment that will mark the future of athletics.”

The new World Athletics line of sports equipment will be provided and showcased at the World Athletics Indoor and Outdoor Championships and made available for the other World Athletics Series events.

The new equipment will be used for the postponed 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium. In March 2022, the new technology will also  be in place at the 18th World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, and in July 2022 at the 18th World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

Commenting on the new equipment, World Athletics Competition Director, Jakob Larsen stated “World Athletics is excited to showcase the new Mondo range of sports equipment which was created with the objective of innovating and incorporating the new brand of World Athletics.

“The collaboration between World Athletics competition, brand, event presentation and Mondo brought this amazing range of innovative design to life which we are pleased to share with the athletics world.”

For more information contact Mondo's Australian distributor Spectrum Floors on 1300 786 585, www.spectrumfloors.com.au/mondo-sport-impact-flooring/

Image courtesy of World Athletics official supplier Mondo.