Athletic shoe

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A pair of athletic shoes.

An athletic shoe is a generic name for footwear designed for sporting and physical activities, and is different in style and build than a dress shoe.

Athletic shoes, depending on the location and the actual type of footwear, can also go by the name trainers (British English), sandshoes, gym boots or joggers (Australian English) running shoes, runners or gutties (Canadian English, Australian English, Hiberno-English), sneakers, tennis shoes (North American English, Australian English), gym shoes, tennies, sport shoes, sneaks, or takkies (South African English) and rubber shoes (Philippine English).

Use in sports

The term athletic shoes is used for running in a marathon or half marathon, basketball, and tennis (amongst others) but tends to exclude shoes for sports played on grass such as football (futbol) and rugby, which are generally known as "boots", or in North America as cleats.

The shoes themselves are made of flexible compounds, typically featuring a sole made of dense rubber. While the original design was basic, manufacturers have since tailored athletic shoes for the different purposes that they can be used for. A specific example of this is the spiked shoe developed for track running. Many of these shoes are made up to a very large size because of athletes with large feet.

High-end marathon running shoes will often come in different shapes suited to different foot types, gait etc. Generally, these shoes are divided into neutral, overpronation and underpronation (supination) running shoes to fit the respective foot strike of the runners.

There are a variety of specialized shoes designed for specific uses:

• Racing flats
• Track shoe
• Skate shoes
• Climbing shoe
• Approach shoe
• Wrestling shoes
• Cleats
• Football boot

Etymology

The British English term "trainer" derives from "training shoe". There is evidence [1] that this usage of "trainer" originated as a genericised tradename for a make of training shoe made in 1968 by Gola.

Plimsolls (English English) are indoor athletic shoes, and are also called sneakers in American English and daps in Welsh English. The word "sneaker" is often attributed to Henry Nelson McKinney, an advertising agent for N. W. Ayer & Son, who, in 1917, coined the term because the rubber sole made the shoe stealthy. All other shoes, with the exception of moccasins, were unsuitable for sneaking due to the noise they inevitably produced. However, the word was in use at least as early as 1887, as the Boston Journal of Education made reference to "sneakers" as "the name boys give to tennis shoes".

Sneaker culture

Sneaker collectors, called "Sneakerheads", use sneakers as fashionable items. Casual sneakers like the Air Force One (Nike) or Superstar (Adidas) have become icons in today's pop culture. Artistically-modified sneakers can sell for upwards of $500.

Brands

Main article: List of athletic shoe brands

Large brands include ASICS, Adidas, Heelys, FILA, Converse, Reebok, New Balance, Nike, Puma, Keds, Lacoste, Street-Wear, K-Swiss, Gola, DC Shoes, Vans, Pony and Mizuno.

Types

• High-tops cover the ankle.
• Low-tops do not cover the ankle.
• Mid-cut are in-between high-tops and low-tops.
• Sneaker boots extend to the calf.

References

• BBC Sport — "The history of running shoes"
• running shoe in the Visual Dictionary at Merriam-Webster.com
• "2002: A Sneaker Odyssey"
• Smith, Ian. "Do the Shoes Fit?" Time; 09/27/99, Vol. 154 Issue 13, p.111
• Globus, Sheila. "What's Your Athletic Shoe IQ?" Current Health 2; Sep2002, Vol. 29 Issue 1, p12
• "The History of Shoes"
• "Sprint shoe information page"
• "The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?"