A Leeds student has an anxious wait to see if his lightning-fast 60-metre sprint time earns him a place in the World Athletics‘ history books. Stevie Gonzalez ran 60 metres in 6.62 seconds, shaving two-hundredths of a second off the time Marcellus Moore set in Lexington in February 2019. Gonzalez of Hunslet hopes his lightning-fast time is a new world record.

Gonzalez, 14, set off at a blistering pace during an indoor meet at the Dorothy Hyman Sports Centre on January 25, 2025. The rapid youngster credits genetics, playing “Bobby Knocking” (also known as Knock a Door Run) and his new slippers for his potential world record time.

“Me and my mates are always bobby knocking on our way home from school for a laugh. You have to be fast; otherwise, someone will catch you. My dad ran away when I was three, and my Uncle Mick always managed to outrun the police; he once managed to escape a police dog. That said, I think my super-fast time is mostly down to my new slippers,” Gonzalez told The Yorkshire Tribune.

Slippers Are Not Regulation Footwear – World Athletics

Whether or not Gonzalez’s genetics and frequent running away from strange folk contributed to his 60-metre dash time remains up for debate. However, his choice of footwear could result in World Athletics voiding his run. Athletes must wear regulation footwear, which slippers are not.

“While World Athletics is delighted to see a youngster set an incredible 60-metre dash time, the fact he ran in his slippers likely means his result is void. Anyone who has run to the corner shop for their mum while wearing slippers knows they give the wearer an unfair advantage over those wearing traditional sports shoes. Although Master Gonzalez’s 6.62 seconds time is fast enough to set a new world record, him wearing slippers means we probably cannot record the result.”

Gonzalez’s running coach, Christopher Linford, hasn’t given up hope that his student will find himself in the official record books. Linford argues that although slippers are not listed in World Athletics’ rulebook as regulation footwear, they do not appear on the prohibited list either.

Other Athletic Footwear Issues Plagued the Olympics

Slippers are not the only footwear to cause a stir in the athletic world. World Athletics banned Nike Alphafly trainers, dubbed “super shoes,” before the Tokyo Olympics. Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge became the first human to run a sub-two-hour marathon in October 2019 while wearing Nike Alphafly shoes, forcing athletics’ governing body to act.

Alphaflys have a trio of carbon plates and a state-of-the-art midsole, which Nike claimed gave the wearer a four per cent increase in running efficiency. World Athletics banned the shoe, prompting Nike to design Vaporflys, which adhered to the new regulations. Vaporfly-wearing runners took 31 of the 36 podium positions at major marathons held in 2019.

Now, slippers are under the spotlight, prompting some athletes to demand a standalone Slippers Games where indoor shoe wearers can wear their favourite footwear in a competitive setting.