wejo wrote:
It might be anything released before April 30th is allowed to be used without the 4 month window. Eitherway it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of the Olympics, but that companies have to have their shoes out by April 1 or April 30 to be used in Olympics.
Hopefully the other companies can meet the deadline so we have a level playing field but I'm not sure we need the 4 month thing at all, but definitely don't think we need it in year 1. If they all rush and make a "public release" and like 5 shoes are available to try April 30 (whichever date is the legal one) and meet the letter of the law, what's the point? Someone misses by 2 weeks or a month and they can't be used at the Olympics? They are just trying to play catch-up.
This is my understanding. Shoe brands will have to play catch up, but they do have 3 full months and you'd think have been working on this pretty dutifully. Probably not ideal for all, but I'm not sure I have a problem with World Athletics getting everything on the table a few months before the Olympics and changing the conversation.
It's really a PR thing, you could understand Wejo if they didn't have the 4 months rule, that a brand could release something their Vaporfly answer a week before the Olympics promoting some hysteria as everyone tested it and generating headlines.
The way the rule is written the shoe convo goes away with everyone's cards on the table before the Summer.