Athletic shoe
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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. Originally known as sporting apparel, today they are known as casual footwear.
Athletic shoes, depending on the location and the actual type of footwear, can also go by the name trainers (British English), sandshoes (Australian English) running shoes or runners (Canadian English, Australian English, Hiberno-English), sneakers (North American English, Australian English), gym shoes, tennis shoes, tennies (South African English) sport shoes, sneaks, takkies (South African English) and joggers (Australian English).
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[edit] Use of athletic shoes
[edit] 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 such as football (soccer) and rugby, which are generally known as "boots", or in the USA as "cleats".
The shoes themselves are made of flexible material, 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. It is also possible to wear other types of shoes whilst training such as; pumps, ballet shoes and many more. The only shoes which are not good for traing are high heels.
High-end Marathon running shoes will often come in different shapes suited to different foot types, gait etc.
[edit] 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 (British 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".
[edit] Popular brands
Popular brands include Nike, Adidas, Reebok, New Balance, Puma AG, Lacoste, K-Swiss, DC Shoes, Fred Perry, Converse, Quiksilver, Asics, Servis-Cheetah and Mizuno
[edit] Types of athletic shoes
- 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.
[edit] 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"
