Wavelight is a pace-setting system using a series of LED lights on the inside of an athletics track developed by Wavelight Technologies in

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

, Netherlands. It has been allowed for use in competition by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

since 2020, citing benefits to pacing and the spectator experience. Standalone variants are also available for personal, recreational, and amateur use. In professional middle and long distance races on the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

circuit, wavelights have been used as benchmarks for athletes to break specific records. In 2020,

Joshua Cheptegei Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (born 12 September 1996) is a Ugandan Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He is the current world record holder for the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres, and held the world best time over the 15K run, 15 kilomet ...

used the technology to break the

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

and

10000 m The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ra ...

world records. In 2025, it will be first used at a championship during the

2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 6 to 9 March 2025 at the Omnisport Apeldoorn arena in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. The four-day competition features thirteen men's, thirteen women's and one mixed athletics events over t ...

References

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External links

Wavelight Technologies
Light-emitting diodes Sport of athletics equipment Sport of athletics terminology Sports technology